 New tags now indicate patient room occupancy. (Photo by Tanya Marvin) |
A key part of quality care is building on improvements over the long term, and City of Hope staff members are doing just that.
On Jan. 8, participants in three previous rapid improvement events, or RIEs, reported that improvements in patient registration, blood draws and the 2B surgical clinic are being maintained and enhanced.
“We don’t expect that everything is perfect after an RIE,” said Alexandra Levine, M.D., chief medical officer. “In striving to be our best, it is just as important to continue our sustainment efforts from past RIEs as it is to conduct new RIEs.”
Achievements continue:
- Patient satisfaction scores from registration increased in late 2009, from 81.7 points in October to 85.6 points in December.
- Today, at any given time, four or fewer patients are waiting to register during peak times, compared to more than 30 before the improvement effort.
- No more than seven patients typically wait for blood draws today, compared to 24 patients before.
- Average time for room turnover in 2B is seven minutes, down from 11 minutes.
“I told my colleagues that if you are invited to participate in an RIE, do it. This is the best thing you can to do to improve your practice,” said I. Benjamin Paz, M.D. “You have to be part of the solution.”
The next two rapid improvement events will take place from Feb. 1 to 5. Topics include availability of medical records for new patients and communication of lab test orders.
For more information, employees may visit www.coh.org/ACE. Questions about ACE also may be addressed to Tricia Kassab, vice president of quality and patient safety, at tkassab@coh.org.
