1. A/Professor Michael Greco
CEO

2. Leading the way in transparency and accountability:
A new era for incorporating the patient voice into health service improvement

5. PV = HO + PE C

6. What are your challenges in regards to consumer engagement with service improvement?
How do you measure patient experience right across all your health services? How independent is this?
In what way do all your patients have access to a say about their healthcare experience?
How do patients know if they have “been heard”?
How do you demonstrate to your patients that you are responsive to their concerns, in a visible and transparent way?
How do your patients see what other patients are saying?
How do you gauge the broader community needs?
How does your organisation allow staff to see through the eyes of the patient in real-time?
How do you inform patients and the broader community that you have made quality improvements based on their feedback?

7. Australian drivers
All healthcare organisations required to seek feedback on patient experience and to demonstrate their responsiveness to this feedback.
Examples
ACSQHC Standard 2 – ‘Partnering with Consumers’
National Health Performance Authority – KPIs

8. What is the role of the Web and social media?

9. People are using the web to comment on health services

11. The social media
Is changing the way we interact with the health system
People just don’t want to simply “rate” a service like a film – healthcare more important than that
What we are finding is that:
People want to tell their stories – good, bad or indifferent
People want real exchanges with their health providers.
Different kind of relationship – more equal, more collaborative, and more transparent
A responsive health service has the power to heal, just like face-to-face relationships in care

12. But …….. Health services are concerned about social media because of:
Independence – no internal control; prefer in-house
Public nature – too much transparency
No right of reply – not a partnership
Potentially damaging comments, particularly if no opportunity for a response

13. But……………… Patients want on-line feedback to be:
Independent – from being skewed; no hidden agenda
Safe – stories are in ‘good hands’ (moderation)
Responsive – opportunity for health service to comment
Anonymous – so that care won’t be affected
Public – transparent/accountable; more difficult to ignore
Constructive – it’s about service improvement
Accessible – easy to use; real-time

14. How can we bring these two worlds together?

15. Patient Opinion Australia
Not-for-profit charity
Allows health organisations to be in control of social media stories rather than have it done to them
It does this by getting their stories to the right people within the health service.
Impacts on an organisation’s patient-centric culture
Real-time feedback and real-time improvement
Our aim is to support health services to be the best they can be, through constructive feedback
Is a social movement worldwide – UK, Israel, Italy, Spain, Canada and others.

16. Background Founded in the UK in 2005 by two doctors
Having a voice is not the same as ‘being heard’
Needed a platform to bring two dialogues together (surveys which dissect the patient, and web-based comments) to enable the newly democratised voices to speak in ways that health organisations can hear and respond to, that is visible to all
It’s about honest and meaningful conversations between patients and health services – it’s a partnership.
It’s more than a website. It allows staff to see through the eyes of the patient in real-time.
We believe that the patient’s story can help make health services better – it’s all about service improvement.

17. Background (continued….)
Quality can no longer be assumed; it has to be demonstrated – in a visible way
Patient Opinion works because healthcare organisations are able to easily hear this feedback – in real time.
We help make sense of the feedback and data, giving busy staff a simple way to make cost-effective, measurable improvements – that are visible to everyone!

18. Patient Opinion is: Not a doctor-rating site like www.rateMD.com
Not a site where patients can gripe about health services without being constructive
Not a website only – it’s a social platform for the Australian public to engage with their health services, focusing on quality improvement
Not a way for health services to keep to themselves what patients are saying about them – the Australian public want transparency

19. The structure of conversations on Patient Opinion

20. Patient Opinion website

22. How do Subscribers see Patient Opinion
Constructive tone – allays fears because it’s about service improvement
Not-for-profit charity – no hidden agenda
Independent – important for credibility
Accessible – engages variety of service users
Moderated – offset risk of potentially ‘damaging’ posts

23. What are the benefits for hospitals?
Addresses many of the Standard 2 indicators of ACSQHC
Provides ‘merit’ evidence to AHPA re demonstrating KPIs for the PAF
Demonstrates to the public your commitment to listening to and responding to the voice of the consumer
Supports community and patient engagement
Adds social value – benefitting the community to have their voice ‘heard’ and shaping quality of health services
Applicable across any health service, especially hard-to-reach groups
Enhances staff’s understanding of patient experience of services
Real-time reports to the Board
Provides the ‘edge’ in funding applications

26. Contact details