Patient and Staff Satisfaction and Experience While Transforming Health Center Systems

Abstract

Introduction: Patient satisfaction and experience are important measures of overall quality of care. In 2017, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) launched an initiative to facilitate changes across organizational systems within Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) with the goal of improving value-driven care. Methods: NACHC worked with eight health centers, four in Georgia and four in Iowa, along with their state Primary Care Associations, to apply the Value Transformation Framework (VTF). This framework distills evidence-based practices into practical knowledge for goal-driven systems change. It provides actionable steps to help health centers reach value-driven goals of improved health outcomes, improved patient and staff experience, reduced costs, and improved equity (referred to as the Quintuple Aim goals). This paper reports on the patient and staff experience when applying VTF systems changes to improve colorectal cancer screening rates. Results: Patient and staff satisfaction and experience remained highly rated even after extensive organizational changes were implemented as part of this project. Implementation of a systems-approach to organizational change, through application of the VTF, did not negatively impact patient or staff experiences. Conclusion: Patient and staff satisfaction and experience were positive despite the application of the VTF and systems-wide organizational changes. These experience results were alongside improved cancer screening rates, as observed from full project results. Investigators are encouraged that the application of systems change using the VTF may result in the achievement of Quintuple Aim goals without disrupting the experience of patients and staff. Investigators recommend continued exploration of this transformation approach.