Patient Satisfaction

 

As shown in the most recent HCAHPS results, the "medication communication" section is one of the most negatively answered sections in the entire survey.

More patients answered the "medication communication" section negatively than any other section.

This means, health care systems are not regularly talking with their patients about their medications before they are discharged.

It's not the workers, it's the institution.

My hypothesis; institutions are concerned about productivity, and having a pharmacist visit patients specifically for the purpose of communication does not immediately equate to increased productivity metrics.

Alternatively, looking forward, a patient who talks with a pharmacist prior to discharge, will most likely provide more positive patients satisfaction scores and is less likely to be readmitted due to a medication misadventure.

The solution; have a pharmacist round on patients who will be discharged and talk about their medications with them for a few minutes.

As I mentioned before, my current practice is in a local community hospital. As part of my duties, I round on patients prior to their discharge to chat with them about their medications.

Every single patient, when interviewed, always has at least one question or concern about a medication that we discuss and resolve.

#patientsatisfaction