Improving Patient Care Experience by Increasing Medication Communication

Background: Patient [DA1] care experiences profoundly impact a hospital's competitiveness and financial viability. Effective communication about medications and their potential side effects is not just a communication strategy but a powerful tool that signifies safe patient care, leads to improved health outcomes, improves medication compliance, and reduces readmissions related to medication side effects and non-compliance. Problem: Effective communication about medications and their potential side effects is a significant indicator of safe patient care and improved health outcomes. The cardiac telemetry unit of a medical center in Northern California has not met the regional benchmark related to medication communication. Context: The Cardiac Telemetry Unit cares for patients recovering from cardiac surgeries and interventional cardiac procedures. The National benchmark for medication communication is 58.3. The current performance of the unit is at 44.2 with a performance gap of 14.3. Interventions: The proposed project utilizes the My Meds Matter (MMM) pamphlet, and RNs will highlight the medications that patients have been taught. Measures: The leading indicator of the project's effectiveness is the National Research Corporation’s (NRC) real-time survey scores related to medication communication. Additionally, patient and staff engagement are assessed through Nurse Leader Rounding (NLR). Results: NRC real-time survey scores are utilized to measure the outcome on medication. The process outcome measure was audited during NLR with a target compliance rate of 90%. From April 16th to June 30th, 2024, 85% of NLR audits indicated that the patient's room contained the highlighted MMM pamphlet. The NRC real-time score improved from 44.2 at the beginning of the project to 60.0 surpassing the benchmark of 58.3. Conclusions: By incorporating this educational tool, we significantly enhanced patient awareness and understanding of medication side effects, as evidenced by the notable increase in the NRC real-time score from 44.2 to 60.0, exceeding the national benchmark of 58.3, at its conclusion, surpassing the national benchmark of 58.3. The project was therefore deemed a success. The consistent presence of the pamphlet in 85% of patient rooms further demonstrated our commitment to achieving high compliance and improving patient education. This project underscores the importance of patient education in delivering quality care and sets a precedent for future initiatives aimed at enhancing the patient experience. [DA1]Label this as Background: