TORONTO, Jan. 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Understanding the patient experience is key to providing good patient-centred care, which is why Health Quality Ontario (HQO) announced a new patient experience survey pilot at the Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC) Quality Improvement Professional Learning Event today. HQO is leading this initiative to develop a practiced-based Primary Care Patient Experience Survey, which could be used by organizations across the province to learn about the care experiences of their patients. The pilot will run through the spring and summer of 2014 and once the pilot is complete, HQO plans to make a modified version of the survey available to all Ontario primary care practices.
"There is no standardized practice-based tool that allows primary care organizations to measure and monitor the experiences of their own patients," said Dr. Joshua Tepper, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HQO. "We are pleased to be able to give all practices a tool they need to understand the patient experience - and ultimately improve care for Ontarians."
As part of HQO's commitment to public and patient engagement, HQO worked closely with Patients Canada and the Ontario Patient Relation's Association (OPRA) to incorporate patient perspectives into the design of the survey. "Learning from patient and caregiver stories is vital to providing high quality primary care," said Dr. Sholom Glouberman, President, Patients Canada. "Over the last several months, patients - Patients Canada among them - have worked with HQO on this initiative to ensure that the patient point of view helps inform changes that can transform our health system."
To develop the survey, HQO conducted key informant interviews which identified important areas of measurement, and worked closely with an advisory group composed of 11 organizations. The survey captures patient experiences in two ways. First, it measures very specific aspects of a patient's most recent visit - their experience setting up the appointment or contacting the clinic, arrival to the office or clinic, consultations with the staff and clinicians, and their experience departing from the clinic. Second, it measures the patient's overall and ongoing experience of the care they receive.
"Family health teams across Ontario are focused on delivering comprehensive primary care that is truly patient-centred," said Angie Heydon, Executive Director of Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO). "We are pleased to participate in this project to advance our understanding of the patient experience in primary care."
"As an organization dedicated to promoting high quality family medicine in Ontario, the Ontario College of Family Physicians believes this pilot will be beneficial to family physicians working to improve their practices," said Dr. Jonathan Kerr, President of OCFP. "Surveying patients about their experiences can help maintain high standards of medical care for Ontarians."
HQO is currently recruiting primary care practices to participate in this pilot study. To express your interest in participating, please email [email protected].
HQO would like to thank the following organizations for contributing to this project: the Ontario Medical Association, AFHTO, AOHC, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario, Patients Canada, OPRA, OCFP, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario and Health Links.
HQO works in partnership with Ontario's health system to support a better experience of care, better outcomes for Ontarians and better value for money. HQO's legislated mandate is to evaluate the effectiveness of new health care technologies and services, report to the public on the quality of the health care system, support quality improvement activities and make evidence-based recommendations on health care funding. For more information about our work, please visit: www.hqontario.ca
Image with caption: "Health Quality Ontario (CNW Group/Health Quality Ontario)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140122_C4553_PHOTO_EN_35771.jpg
SOURCE: Health Quality Ontario
Media contact: Neil McMullin, Senior Communications Advisor, Health Quality Ontario, 130 Bloor St. West, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 1N5, 416-323-6868 ext. 163, [email protected]
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