There was always a great deal of planning for post-discharge care, but it wasn't something we did in front of the patients. Now we make it a point to talk more about discharge and after-care and to keep the patients fully informed. Often the survey reveals not shortcomings, but staffers and nurses doing extraordinary things that patients want to commend. The survey gives them an opportunity to do that. I post them so staff can read them.
Patients use the survey to remark on the wonderful care they received.
So not only do we get immediate feedback, often we get very positive feedback for the care we're delivering. To date, more than 200 patients have participated. The hospital is considering extending the survey to other floors. From the time they're admitted, patients are told they are going to be surveyed immediately to find out how their service is.