Improving the patient experience

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Watch the video to see what patient centered care means at the Aurora VNA Zilber Family Hospice.
Aurora is deeply committed to delivering a best-in-class patient experience, which includes both service quality and clinical quality. Kindness, respect, excellent communication and quality care describe Aurora at its best. It is what all of our patients deserve, and what every caregiver strives and is held accountable for. By placing our patients first, we create a best-in-class experience and live our value of providing every patient the best care.

Our commitment to an excellent patient experience was reinforced in 2010 with the formation of the Office of Patient Experience. This new office elevates the importance of patient satisfaction and provides support to caregivers across Aurora. It is helping managers analyze, understand and improve their patient satisfaction survey results.

New service standards were introduced in 2010, and every caregiver is expected to know and embrace them. Education and training sessions, including workshops, coaching skills sessions and a self-paced learning module, were implemented. In addition, tools to assist with clinician-to-patient communication are now available.

Communication is a critical component of an outstanding patient experience. In 2010, we continued to focus on communication tools to enhance and simplify the health care experience. Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have provided new and better ways to stay in touch and provide patients the information they need. Online access to appointment requests and physician emails make scheduling and getting test results quicker and easier. Simplified registration and billing processes have enhanced both the front and back end of patient visits. And improvements to our electronic health record are facilitating better two-way communication.

We make a difference in the lives of so many people. That is why we need to ensure that every patient receives the best we have to offer; each and every time they visit us. As with quality standards, we monitor and measure our patients' satisfaction and hold ourselves accountable for results. In 2010, dozens of Aurora sites scored in the top quartile for patient satisfaction compared to national and state benchmarks, and many others were recognized for significant improvement in patient satisfaction and loyalty.

Watch the video for an example of how our focus on the patient experience is improving patient care.