Interpret - 3 I's of Process Improvement (Part 2 of 3)

You've done your research and investigated the issue in your health system. You gathered feedback from patients, staff, focus groups, and surveys over the last 90 days and now it's time to interpret what you found.

While you may think interpretation is the easiest of the 3 I's, it can be tricky because too many people go through this process using a form of confirmation bias, meaning they view this data as a tool to simply confirm what they already believe. Instead it should be viewed as a hypothesis which you set out to disprove what you originally believed. You don't need to be a scientist (I am definitely not), but keep an open mind when viewing the results of your investigation.

Interpreting the Data

You've collected information and feedback about the wait times in your ED. Now's the time to do a root cause analysis to understand why delays are happening. You're looking for answers to the following questions:

What

• What is the actual wait time?
• What is the perceived wait time?
• What are acceptable wait times?
• Do acceptable wait times change at different times of day?

Why

• Why are the wait times long?
• Are there staffing issues?
• Are there structural or operational roadblocks in place?

Who

• Who does this affect?
• Who can be responsible for remedying the situation?

Some things to help when interpreting your findings:

1. External benchmarks don't matter. Each hospital will tell you they're unique or different and then immediately compare themselves to similar facilities. Yes, your health system is similar to the one down the road or across the country, but you are unique. Your patients may be more or less patient (no pun intended), your staff may communicate better, the color of the walls in your ED may make people less anxious, etc. The intent of this exercise is not to compare yourselves to others, but provide the best experience for YOUR patients.
2. Use other people: Going back to confirmation bias, it's good to have more sets of eyes interpret the data you collected to better understand if what you're seeing is actually what's happening. The added benefit of this is if you include people in the analysis, they're more likely to champion whatever intervention you might propose.
3. Create a visual. If you're communicating your findings to leadership and other staff, it will be more easily digested if you can describe it quickly and with a visual. Handing them a 20-page report probably won't get much done.

Next time we'll get into intervening... how to fix the issue.

Note: This is the second article in the series of utilizing a simple framework for process improvement and we've been using the example of rectifying the issue of long wait times in the Emergency Department. If you missed the first article focused on Investigating, you can find it here.

Networking and Learning Opportunity for Patient Experience

NRC Health is hosting our 30th annual conference in scenic San Diego on August 21-23. Hub 24 is the place to learn about new patient experience, market experience, consumer experience, and employee experience initiatives from your peers and industry leaders. Make your travel plans and confirm your spot here before the venue is full.

Stats to Live By

1. 60% Of Americans Have Had A Recent Bad Healthcare Experience. Forbes
2. Two-thirds of U.S. adults reported that managing healthcare is “overwhelming” and “time-consuming” American Academy of Physician Associates
3. 53% of latino adults have skipped or delayed healthcare in the past two years American Academy of Physician Associates