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MEASURING WHAT'S IMPORTANT

EVENTS

CAHPS

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

August 2009 FOCUS

Welcome

Patient experience. There is nothing more important than ensuring our patients have a quality experience -- the care that matters most to them -- in our hospitals and facilities. NRC Picker’s FOCUS is designed to give you and your teams more resources, more insight and more information to aid your mission of continually improving the patient experience, one patient at a time.

If you have ideas about topics you would liked to see explored or questions you would like to have answered in FOCUS, please e-mail the FOCUS editor, Jessica Kennedy, at jkennedy@nrcpicker.com.

Measuring the patient experience in the doctor's office

While CAHPS Clinician and Group survey (CG CAHPS) has been in the marketplace for a couple years, it has begun to gain momentum with this summer’s introduction of visit-specific instruments. This conversation with NRC Picker’s medical group director explains why CG CAHPS is so important. Read more here.

NRC Picker President's Joint Commission Appointment

The Joint Commission appointed NRC Picker President Jason Rau to its task force on cultural competence and patient-centered care last year. Learn more about this exciting advancement for patient-centered care.

Clients in US News & World Report Rankings

The annual U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals" rankings do not consider routine hospital care. The magazine examines hospital performance across 16 specialty areas. Less than one-third of the hospitals evaluated receive high enough scores on the magazine’s rigorous statistical test to appear on the list. Just 1 percent of hospitals achieve the honor roll. View NRC Picker clients on the list.

NRC Named to Forbes List

National Research Corporation recently was named as one of the fastest growing, publicly-traded small businesses in America by Fortune Small Business. This is the third time NRC has been included on the exclusive list. Read more about NRC's success.

Welcome new NRC Picker Clients!

NRC Picker is pleased to welcome these new clients during the second quarter of 2009! See the list.

Houston area Client Networking Event

NRC Picker and St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System hosted a client-only networking event last month regarding the patient experience in Houston. Staff from three client healthcare systems spent the day discussing and brainstorming improvement initiatives, customer service goals, rounding and discharge phone call best practices. Click here to learn more.

HCAHPS Updates

For timely HCAHPS information, visit the updated Web site maintained by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) has initiated its September 2009 preview period. To read more about these HCAHPS updates, click here.

Upcoming Events

NRC Picker’s 15th annual Symposium on Patient-Centered Care is rapidly approaching! Learn more about the free and special Symposium Preview webinar, September HCAHPS Community Call and other upcoming activities. View the fall NRC Picker calendar of events.

Scheduled Nursing Rounds

Scheduled patient rounds, or “rounding,” give nurses and other clinical staff a concise and updated awareness of their patients’ needs. This awareness can help staff anticipate patient requests so effectively that patients may need only to use their call lights in emergencies. Learn more in this NRC Picker Catalyst’s quality improvement article. Download it here.

In their own words

“San Joaquin Community Hospital is a faith-based organization. We consider our work to be a spiritual path and calling and are in the process of creating a culture of sacred work. NRC Picker’s goals and its dimensions of care are parallel with the things we care about. SJCH is investing in the growth and development of our staff because they create the healing environment.”

Sandy Johnson
Executive Director of Mission and Service
San Joaquin Community Hospital