Case Studies & Testimonials
PATIENT SATISFACTION SCORES SOAR!
Hospital Name: Santa Monica – UCLA Medical Center
JJ&R Client Since: 1974
Santa Monica – UCLA Medical Center is a 399, full service, acute care hospital in Santa Monica, California, and a member of Adventist Health System. The Emergency Department treats approximately 30,000 patients annually.
Performance Improvement – Patient Satisfaction
JJ&R has a proven track record of improving Patient Satisfaction scores in the Emergency Department. In a recent independent survey, the Emergency Department at Santa Monica – UCLA Medical Center scored above the 99th percentile in Patient Satisfaction. The highest in all the UC Health Systems!
Hospital Name: Takoma Regional Hospital, Greeneville, Tennessee
JJ&R Client Since: 2001
Takoma Regional Hospital is a 115-bed, full service, acute care hospital in rural Eastern Tennessee, and a member of The Wellmont Health System. The Emergency Department treats approximately 18,000 patients annually.
Performance Improvement - Patient Satisfaction
Prior to JJ&R’s involvement in 2001, Takoma Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department suffered from dismal Patient Satisfaction Scores from its patients. Part of this was due to a “revolving door” of physicians provided by the previous contract holder. This became a major concern of both the Administration and the Medical Staff.
The hospital monitors patient satisfaction through the Gallup Organization. “Core Items” in the survey revealed significant deficiencies in “physician-related” aspects that fell well below the average in the Gallup’s database.
JJ&R’s management team immediately addressed the issue with hospital Administration, setting a direction and course to rectify the problem. Selection of the “right” Medical Director along with recruiting of several key physicians, were identified as critical factors in turning around the department, and how care was to be delivered in the future
Results:
JJ&R’s first step was to bring in a Medical Director with superlative leadership and management skills, who possessed the qualities to tackle the tough and sensitive issues. The new Medical Director began working with JJ&R’s in-house recruitment office to provide a cadre of quality, stable physicians.
Although it took several months to complete the recruitment process, attitudes among the Emergency Department staff began to change into a cooperative, team oriented and committed group. Armed with a new “esprit de corps” and a renewed focus on providing the highest quality of patient care possible, Gallup poll surveys began to steadily improve.
Currently, Emergency Department Customer Satisfaction scores and moral are at there highest level ever, and patient volume continues to grow. More Significantly, departments utilization, and hospital admissions have increased by 10% over the prior year.
CYCLE TIME REDUCED BY 28%
Hospital Name:
Paradise Valley Hospital, National City, CA.
JJ&R Client Since: 2000
Paradise Valley Hospital is a 237-bed, full service community hospital. The Emergency Department treats over 36,000 patients annually.
Performance Improvement – The “WOW Program”
Prolonged waiting periods had been a chief complaint in satisfaction surveys for too long, and with the patient volume climbing to an excess of 3,000 visits per month, the problem was exacerbated. The Emergency Department committee, comprised of representatives from nursing, admitting, laboratory, radiology, and JJ&R physicians, developed “Wipe Out Waiting,” or “WOW Program.”
The committee examined the step-by-step process for patients and identified a number of areas where “bottlenecks” occurred, slowing down the patient cycle time. As each area was broken down, suggestions and recommendations were made for possible improvements, designed to improve patient turnaround times. In addition, a “Prompt Care”system was initiated to handle low acuity patients in a timely and efficient manner.
Results:
In just two months, the cycle time was reduced by 28%, and 80% of patients go from triage to bed in less than one hour. The registration process was reduced to one, simultaneous step, instead of the previous three-step process, through implementation of wireless, bedside registration.
The Prompt Care Program eased congestion in the department of low acuity patients and most are discharged within 90 minutes. As a result, Patient Satisfaction scores continued to increase on a quarterly basis reaching all time highs.
The Emergency Department Committee then established “The CARE Team,” (Customer relations Advancing internal efficiency, Reaching our community, Excellence through education), as a natural spin-off from the WOW Program. The team meets monthly to address issues relating to the WOW improvements focusing on patient care.
Since JJ&R began the contract in 2000, the average monthly utilization has climbed from 2,450 per month. Turnaround times have greatly improved for all patient classifications, and the number of patients “LWBS” has decreased.
