Raising the Bar on the National Patient Experience Survey responds to the national inpatient experience survey results by investigating the lower scoring areas of the survey and recommending interventions to improve these results. Four DHBs participated and provided opportunities for staff and patients to explore the reasons behind the responses to information about medication side effects and discharge from hospital through interviews, observation and focus groups. The results suggest there are interventions that could improve the experience for patients and staff and lead to improved patient outcomes, reduced readmission rates, and reduced health care costs associated with these readmissions.
The report details both ‘quick wins’ and ‘big wins’ to improve the patient experience of care. For instance, information about medication side effects was found to be shared in an ad-hoc manner, and mostly verbally. It was therefore difficult for a number of patients to recall important information. Currently, discharge summaries are of less value to patients and appear to be more targeted to clinician need. Ways to respond to this are discussed.