Collecting data on patient experience is not enough: they must be used to improve care

Abstract

The NHS has been collecting data on patients’ experience of care for over 10 years but few providers are systematically using the information to improve services. Angela Coulter and colleagues argue that a national institute of “user” experience should be set up to draw the data together, determine how to interpret the results, and put them into practice

Should Health Care Providers be Accountable for Patients’ Care Experiences?

“…4 Nonetheless, despite broad availability of resources to support quality improvement initiatives designed to enhance patient experiences, 5 many providers have not acted on their patient experience survey results. 6 Further research is needed to understand barriers to pursuing quality improvement activities to improve patient experiences. 3.…”

Defining the user role in infection control

“…30 Generic evaluation tools are in routine use, but employment of this data to improve care is still sub-optimal. 5 From an organisational perspective user views can help shape care which is responsive to people's individual abilities and preferences. 9 From a health systems perspective, it is useful to bear in mind the aspirational 'fully engaged' scenario, 31 the contribution of patient safety efforts toward this goal, but also to stop and think about the nature of this engagement.…”

“…2,3 There is a well-established discourse surrounding the potential role and benefits of involving service users in co-designing healthcare services and delivery through consultation, followed by feedback and evaluation to improve services. [4][5][6] Here, users constitute members of the public (as potential users of services), patients as current users, as well as carers and relatives of patients. Involvement of patients in decision making around their own individual treatment plans can result in enhanced selfmanagement, and better health outcomes through increased self-efficacy.…”

Measuring patient experience in diabetes care in England and Wales: proof of concept from the Patient Experience of Diabetes Services (PEDS) pilot

“…Peoples' emotional and practical response to illness and the responsiveness of health providers and systems to their needs matters hugely to all users of healthcare and has a direct influence on other dimensions of quality. 1 This is particularly true in the management of long-term conditions like diabetes, where treatment success is critically dependent on a successful partnership between people with diabetes and the healthcare professionals supporting them in their care. 2 The experience of patients with long-term conditions is positively related to other aspects of healthcare quality, including their engagement with and adherence to information, clinical processes and outcomes.…”

“…1 There are now a number of regular NHS surveys of general patient experience carried out in England. Peoples' emotional and practical response to illness and the responsiveness of health providers and systems to their needs matters hugely to all users of healthcare and has a direct influence on other dimensions of quality.…”