Challenge
The Joint Commission released a set of standards aimed at advancing effective communication, cultural competence, and patient- and family-centered care practices in hospitals. The standards were published in the 2014 Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals.
Spurred by a deep commitment to meet the health care needs of an increasingly diverse Veteran population, and in anticipation of its upcoming requirement to comply with the Joint Commission’s standards, the Washington, DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center engaged Atlas Research through a five-year contract to provide management and planning support for the Medical Center’s patient-centered care, training, and research initiatives.
Solution
Good communication between health care providers and their patients can improve treatment quality and compliance. This communication includes the ability for a patient to share a health-related story, and the ability of the provider to listen, comprehend, and respond. Atlas Research is assisting DCVAMC with a narrative medicine study designed to measure the impact of patient-provider interactions on the quality of care delivery and Veteran satisfaction. Atlas helped develop a proprietary IT system that allows Veterans to record and share a story with their health care providers. The study will examine the impact of stories collected person-to-person and via telephone.
Result
This pilot initiative is ongoing. Findings will inform improvements to the Medical Center’s patient-centered care practices.