Improving Your Office Testing Process

Patient Engagement

Improving Your Office Testing Process
User Guide
Using the Toolkit
Starting the Improvement Process in Your Office
Assessing Office Readiness
Planning for Improvements
Assessing Your Testing Process
Patient Engagement
Using the Patient Handout
Chart Audits
Electronic Health Record Evaluation

The Patient Engagement Survey can help you to assess your patients' understanding of their tests and their knowledge about what they should do after receiving test results.

Use this tool to measure patient understanding at baseline and again after changes have been implemented.

Using the Survey

You can administer this survey to assess patient understanding at one of two points in the testing process.

After a patient has a test ordered or performed, but before the results are back.
After a patient has been notified of their test results. An optional question designed for offices where patient followup is a problem can be used.

Follow these steps to use the survey:

Prepare a list of patients to survey. You can identify patients who had a test ordered or those who were notified of test results in several ways, depending on how your office functions. For example, you can look at a lab log, review charts or the electronic health record at the end of a day, or ask staff or physicians to keep a list for a day or two.
We recommend you collect at least 15-20 surveys to look for patterns in responses.
You should survey patients within 1-2 days of their visit or notification of results.
Use a survey form for each patient. If a patient has had multiple tests, select the answer you think best represents the patient's understanding.

Scoring the Responses

Add up the responses for each question.
Identify the questions with the highest proportion of 'no' responses.
Optional Question: Compare responses to information in the patient record to determine the accuracy of communication with the patient.

Interpreting the Results

Many "no" responses to a question indicate:

An area where errors may occur.
An area to improve your patients' knowledge about their tests. Sample another group of patients after you implement a change to assess whether your change improved their understanding of the role they play in the testing process.

Patient Engagement and Patient Safety

We know that:

Patients often do not know what test has been ordered or why it has been ordered.
Patients may not know when to expect test results.
Patients often assume or may be told that "no news is good news" and so may not take the initiative to get their results.
Patients encounter challenges in following up on abnormal results and may require additional support.

Patient Engagement Survey

Date: _____________ Survey No. _________________

Instructions:

Ask patients in person or by phone about their experiences. Complete only one section for each patient, depending on where they are in the testing process.
Tell the patient that this survey will be used to improve patient safety in the office and that his/her responses will not be shared with other staff, including physicians.

1. After patients have medical tests:
1. Do you know what medical tests were ordered for you at your last office visit?	Yes ___	No ___
2. Do you know why the test (or tests) was ordered? ___ Routine check-up or screening ___ Check current condition ___ Identify the cause of symptoms ___ Don't know ___ Other	Yes ___	No ___
3. Do you know when to expect your test results?	Yes ___	No ___
4. Do you know what to do if you don't hear from us when your test results are due?	Yes ___	No ___
5. Did you tell us how you would like to be contacted with your test results? ___ Office visit ___ Phone call ___ Card/letter ___ Electronic patient portal ___ Email to __________________________	Yes ___	No ___
2. After patients receive their results:
1. Did you receive your test results? If the answer is "no," the survey is complete.	Yes ___	No ___
2. Were you given clear instructions, advice, or information about following up on your test result?	Yes ___	No ___
3. Does the patient's response cor- respond with his/her medical record?	Yes ___	No ___

Optional question if patient followup is problematic:

What were you told about your test result (mark all that apply)?

___ The test was normal
___ Continue the same medication or treatment
___ Return to the office for more tests
___ Change medication or treatment
___ See a specialist or go to another facility

Encuesta sobre participación de pacientes

Fecha: _____________ Encuesta No. _________________

Instrucciones

Pregunte al paciente en persona o por teléfono acerca de su experiencia. Complete sólo una sección por paciente y dependiendo de dónde se encuentra en el proceso de los exámenes.
Dígale al paciente que esta encuesta se usará para mejorar la seguridad de los pacientes en la clínica y que sus respuestas no se compartirán con otros empleados, ni con los médicos.

1. Después que los pacientes se hacen los exámenes médicos:
1. ¿Sabe usted qué exámenes médicos le ordenaron cuando visitó la clínica la última vez?	Si ___	No ___
2. ¿Sabe usted por qué le ordenaron los exámenes médicos? ___ Examen de rutina o de detección ___ Examinar por una condición actual ___ Encontrar la causa de síntomas ___ No sé ___ Otro	Si ___	No ___
3. ¿Sabe usted cuándo estarán listos los resultados de sus exámenes	Si ___	No ___
4. ¿Sabe lo que debe hacer si no le llamamos con los resultados de sus exámenes en la fecha en que deben estar listos?	Si ___	No ___
5. ¿Nos informó cómo prefiere que nos comuniquemos con usted para darle los resultados de sus exámenes? ___ Visita a la clínica ___ Por teléfono ___ Una carta ___ Portal electrónico para pacientes ___ Correo electrónico a __________________________	Si ___	No ___
2. Después que los pacientes reciben sus resultados:
1. ¿Recibió usted el resultado de sus exámenes? Si la respuesta es “no”, termine la encuesta.	Si ___	No ___
2. ¿Le dieron instrucciones, consejos e información clara acerca de cómo dar seguimiento con los resultados de sus exámenes?	Si ___	No ___
3. ¿Corresponde la respuesta del paciente con su expediente médico?	Si ___	No ___

Pregunta opcional si el seguimiento del paciente es problemático:

¿Qué le dijeron sobre los resultados de sus exámenes? (marque todas las respuestas que aplican)

___ El resultado del examen fue normal
___ Continuar el mismo medicamento o tratamiento
___ Regresar a la clínica para más exámenes médicos
___ Cambiar el medicamento o tratamiento
___ Ver a un especialista o ir a otra clínica

Page last reviewed August 2013
Page originally created August 2013

Internet Citation: Patient Engagement. Content last reviewed August 2013. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://archive.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/quality-resources/tools/office-testing-toolkit/officetesting-toolkit7.html