PEP Rounding at RMH highlighted by Health Quality Ontario

October 17, 2018 - An initiative focused on improving the patient and family experience at Ross Memorial Hospital is being highlighted as a best practice by Health Quality Ontario (HQO). HQO is the provincial lead on healthcare quality, reporting system performance and identifying success stories.

HQO invited Trish Robinson, an RMH Patient Experience Partner (PEP), and Mindy Young, Senior Lead of Quality and Patient Relations, to explain the new PEP Rounding quality improvement process at the Health Quality Transformation (HQT) Conference in Toronto. HQT is Canada’s largest conference focusing on health care quality. 

PEPs are former patients (or patients’ family members) who volunteer their time as advisors to the hospital team, providing their unique perspectives to help decision-making when changes are underway. 

PEP Rounding involves visits to current patients by PEPs to collect real-time patient and family experience feedback. The RMH Patient and Family Council developed this initiative based on the belief that asking patients about their experience while they are still in hospital would provide more accurate results than post-discharge surveys.

The PEPs introduce themselves to the patients and explain the purpose of their visit. Among the topics discussed with the patients are two specific questions:  what is one thing we could do to improve your experience; and would you recommend the hospital to others?

“It has been truly a pleasure to visit the units to complete rounding surveys,” said Trish. “I find that this does give the patients an opportunity to express their feelings about their hospitalization. This provides valuable information about hospital services and the quality of the care the patients receive at RMH.”

These caring conversations are helping patient care managers to respond to issues while the patients are still in hospital. This extra attentiveness enhances the patients’ experiences, and is reflected in the Hospital’s patient experience scores, which have improved 9% since the PEP Rounding program began in February.

Learn more about the PEP program:

Those interested in the PEP program can learn more by emailing quality@rmh.org or by calling 705-328-6126. Application forms are available on the RMH website, www.rmh.org/volunteers. Patient and Family Experience Partners go through an interview process, including criminal record check, and orientation to understand Hospital policies, such as the promise to protect patient privacy. PEPs must have been patients, or family members of patients, within the last two years.