HSA moves to measure quality of patient care

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) is partnering with US based medical research firm, NRC Picker, to better understand how its patients view the experience and quality of care they receive. NRC Picker provides patient experience research and evidence-based best practices to health care providers, to help them improve the care they offer to patients.  The firm’s survey and improvement techniques are based on the foundation of more than 7,000 interviews and focus groups conducted by the Picker Institute and Harvard University.

This research identified what matters most to patients and the firm claims that it is the first to define the concept of ‘patient-centered care’, which is widely adopted in the United States as a standard by which patients’ perspectives can be measured to provide data about the quality of care offered by the provider.

HSA head, Chief Executive Officer, Lizzette Yearwood, explained, “The HSA strives to create an environment focused on the needs of the patient and their family. We are pleased to be working with the NRC Picker team, which is committed to working with us to measure and improve the most important aspects of the patient experience.”

NRC Picker’s approach to measuring patient experience uses what the firm calls the ‘Eight Dimensions of Patient-Centered Care’, which are comprised of: respect for patient values, preferences and needs; coordination and integration of care; information and education; physical comfort; emotional support; involvement of family and friends; transition and continuity; and access to care.