In one of the grand lobbies of one of America's top hospitals is the slogan: "patients first."
Last month, I toured the sprawling state-of-the-art main campus of the Cleveland Clinic with medical colleagues from B.C.
Founded in 1921, it is a non-profit organization and the second largest group medical practice in the U.S. (after the Mayo Clinic).
When we think of group practice, we're usually talking about relatively small numbers of physicians working in the same office.
The Cleveland Clinic, in contrast, is a gigantic organization encompassing all the medical specialties in multiple hospitals and clinics.
Each of its 3,000 physicians is salaried but hired on one-year contracts. Every physician is subject to an annual professional review to hold everyone accountable to the goals of the organization.
Continued privileges, employment and salary are all dependent on the quality of care. No one physician can be complacent and not keep up with continuous quality improvement.
The motto, "patients first" represents a commitment to each patient. This refers not only to the highest standard of clinical care ("Every life deserves world-class care") but patient-centred values encompassing their physical, emotional and spiritual experiences in health care.
Our tour was sponsored by the Practice Support Program which has been bringing evidence-based, quality improvement innovations to the physicians of British Columbia.
The triple aims of the program are to improve the health care experience (for both patients and providers), improve patient outcomes (quality and safety) and be sustainable.
On our two-day tour, I was able to see first-hand how the Cleveland Clinic has created a more patient-centred organization.
These included the HUSH (Help Us Support Healing) campaign to create a quiet hospital environment at nighttime, the Ask 3/Teach 3 program to ensure patients are given clear education about their medications, purposeful hourly nurse rounding on each patient, and the No Pass Zone policy (No employees should walk by a room with an unanswered call bell without checking in on the patient - even if it is not their patient).
Touring the clean and modern hospital buildings, I saw details that contribute to a more positive patient experience.
They redesigned patient gowns to be more comfortable and to cover all the parts you would want to keep private.
Patients can readily distinguish who is a physician, nurse, respiratory therapist, pharmacist or other health professional by their uniforms.
When patients enter individual hospital rooms, they will find them cleaner than five star hotel suites. A greeting card is left on the bedside table from the proud cleaning staff.
Each patient receives a personalized card with the photos and names of the members of the health-care team looking after them.
Further efforts to improve the healing environment include therapeutic dogs. We saw several making the rounds. Reiki therapists are also employed to make medical procedures more comfortable.
Patients have access to their own medical records electronically. They can even book appointments over the Internet.
The clinic knows that these practices have improved patients' experiences.
As with most American hospitals, patients are systematically surveyed after they leave the hospital. I wonder, how would our clinics and hospitals fare?
Included in the Practice Support Programs I am teaching my colleagues are patient surveys. This can help us assess how we're doing from our patients' perspectives, where we need improvement and whether practice changes have made a significant difference.
In upcoming columns, I'll elaborate on these and other innovative ideas that may be coming soon to a hospital or clinic near you. ?
Dr. Davidicus Wong is a family physician at the PrimeCare Medical Centre. His Healthwise column appears regularly in this paper. You can read more about achieving your positive potential for health and the positive potential of health care at davidicus wong.wordpress.com.
