Introduction to rethinking the patient experience.
J Am Coll Radiol. 2015 Jan;12(1):16. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2014.07.004.
Raman SP1, Horton KM2, Fishman EK2.
Abstract
Several months ago, as our colleagues gathered at a weekend retreat for faculty members in the Johns Hopkins Department of Radiology, ideas were being tossed around the room for improving the department in one way or another. Finances, academics, research, clinical work, and mentorship were all discussed in great detail, and the different attendees separated into smaller groups to discuss different aspects of the department’s functioning. One of these small groups, asked to consider the experience of patients in our department, had a few questions the other attendees at the retreat had never really considered: What are we, as a department, doing to improve the experience of patients who come to John Hopkins or its affiliates for their imaging? Having worked our entire careers in an industry in which little thought has been given to the daily experiences of patients, do we as radiologists really understand what patients as consumers expect and demand of us? Each of us has spent years training in the nuances of diagnostic or interventional imaging, but how many of us have sat down and considered the experiences of patients in areas such as making an appointment, parking, waiting for a study, and speaking with a technologist, receptionist, or nurse?