Michigan Medicine honored for patient experience efforts

Michigan Medicine has been named one of the nation’s best when it comes to creating a positive patient experience!

The organization, and University Hospital specifically, recently received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award for 2020 from Healthgrades.

The award recognizes hospitals that deliver an overall positive patient experience as reported by patients. Healthgrades uses feedback from patient satisfaction surveys administered by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), which is part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

According to survey results, 80 percent of patients rated the institution 9 out of 10 and 85 percent would definitely recommend the hospital to friends or loved ones. Patients rated their communication with doctors and nurses highly, with all key metrics at or above the national averages.

“Providing the safest, highest quality care and creating a positive patient experience are top priorities at Michigan Medicine,” said Devin Carr, D.N.P., R.N., chief nursing officer for University Hospital and Frankel Cardiovascular Center.

“Valuable feedback from patients helps us gauge our performance and identify areas for improvement,” he said. “Ongoing initiatives like nurse bedside shift report and shared rounds encourage patient and family involvement in decisions around the plan of care and ensure that patients’ voices are heard.”

Additionally, patient and family advisors have worked with hospital leadership and unit-based councils to improve communication.

“All of us in the Office of Patient Experience have enjoyed partnering with physicians, nurses and staff at University Hospital in order to provide an exceptional patient experience,” said Keith Gran, Michigan Medicine’s chief patient experience officer. “I am very pleased that University Hospital is getting the recognition they so very much deserve for their efforts.”

This is the first year that Michigan Medicine – University Hospital has received this honor.

Are you interested on improving the patient experience in your area of the organization?

The Office of Patient Experience has many resources to help units and departments. These include:

• Creating Positive Experiences toolkit, which includes resources that will assist with reinforcing expectations and behaviors related to creating and sustaining a positive patient experience.
• A patient story library, which will draw you in and provide a unique perspective to guide your decisions, learning and growth as a Michigan Medicine community member. 
• Patient Experience Learning Forums, designed to expose patients, families, staff and faculty to engaging discussions and best practices in improving the patient experience. 

Congratulations to the University Hospital faculty and staff on receiving this award!