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Getting to the Heart of the Patient Experience
Medical expertise is the foundation of the Southcoast open heart surgery program, but staff also relied on some other important experts when developing the program — local heart patients.
Late last summer, Southcoast convened two focus groups of patients who had undergone heart surgery in Boston and other locations, to learn about their experiences.
“Besides clinical excellence, we believed we needed the program to be patient-centered and patient-focused in order to truly succeed,” said Ronald B. Goodspeed, MD, MPH, President of Southcoast Hospitals Group. “We knew we had to develop an understanding of patients’ experiences — what they liked and what their needs were.”
Focus group participants were identified through Southcoast’s cardiac rehabilitation programs.
Participants responded to questions about everything from how they felt when they found out that they needed cardiac surgery to what kind of access their families had to information while they were undergoing surgery to their ability to return to the activities of daily living.
As a result, Southcoast has added some unique features to its open heart program that focus more on the “caring” aspect of treatment.
One feature is a cardiac case manager who will act as a personal “guide” for each patient and their family throughout surgery, hospital recovery and afterward.
“The difference between how patients thought of their experience with cardiac surgery was subtle but nonetheless significant in comparison to healthcare professionals,” said Marcia Liggin, Vice President of Patient Services at Charlton. “By conducting the focus groups, we were able to base our planning not only on quality, but on caring for our patients in a way that focuses better on their needs.”
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