Service

• Pairing a nurse with a buddy to help with patient response
• Designating backups to the buddies
• Communicating with the appropriate nurse the patient’s needs

What can your team do to allocate staff time and attention effectively and strategically? 

• Identifying asthmatic patients, who haven’t processed refills
• Contacting in groups of five each week until every patient has been reached
• Communicating the benefits of inhaled corticosteroids

What can your team do to proactively reach out to patients to help them manage their chronic conditions? 

• Identifying persistent asthmatics, instead of waiting to follow up on ER visits
• Discussing with patients and parents how to avoid flare-ups
• Educating about the proper use of their medication to control the disease

 What can your team do to harness KP's unique tools to enhance preventive care? And  what can your team do to help patients better understand their care? 

• Correcting wrong numbers in the Patient Member Handbook
• Handling calls directly instead of routing to call center, adding voice mail and returning messages hourly
• Wearing wireless headsets to take calls remotely

What can your team do to look at its work through the eyes of the patient? 

• Instituting a regular nap time, testing both 1-3 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. slots
• Communicating to staff and families about nap time, to be quiet and posting alerts
• Coordinating with other departments to see if adjustments to time period are needed

What can your team do to try out different potiential solutions without being afraid of failure? 

• Standardizing pain medication schedules, and include follow-up calls after discharge
• Reassessing patient and communicating with her when next med is scheduled
• Reinforcing the idea that “every patient is my patient” and have "no-pass" policy

What can your team do to to put the patient at the center? 

• Posting laminated cards at med stations of commonly used drugs and where these are regulary stored
• Delivering drugs 15 minutes prior to adminstration to allow time to be prepared
• Color-coding bins of new meds to distinguish from a patient’s discontinued meds

What can your team do to plan ahead and prepare in advance to anticipate patient needs?

• Including Mrs. Dash seasoning packets with meals
• Writing scripts for personnel to educate patients
• Getting informed on all diet options

What can your team do to look at a hospital stay through the eyes of a patient? 

• Sharing scheduling data with collaborative departments
• Setting boundaries to respect the other department’s needs and processes, like avoiding late-day appointments
• Writing it down and gettng consensus so everyone can follow the procedure

What can your team do to work collaboratively with a sister department to improve the patient experience?