Ambulatory strategy: Improving the outpatient experience
Cincinnati Children's is known worldwide for life-saving, leading-edge care for the highest acuity patients, but our greatest opportunity to improve Patient and Family Experience is in our outpatient areas.
“More than 95 percent of our patient encounters are outpatient—kids who don’t get admitted but are here for more routine care such as med checks,” said Patty Manning-Courtney, MD, vice president of medical operations, Ambulatory Services. “The families of those kids are looking for convenience, affordability, and great experience. We have an obligation to deliver it.”
Since 2017, Manning-Courtney has been leading implementation of our Ambulatory Strategy, which is focused on improving access, communication and interactions with patients and families in:
- Medical clinics, including primary care, specialty care, Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute day hospital, and research clinics
- Mental health clinics, including Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, and Partial Hospitalization
- Diagnostics, including Radiology, TRC/Lab, Respiratory Diagnostics, and Cardiac Imaging
- Therapies, including Occupational and Physical Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Audiology, and Infusion Therapy.
In FY18, Manning-Courtney’s team succeeded in improving Outpatient Patient and Family Experience scores by responding to real-time data on how parents felt about their visits. In addition, they began standardizing routine processes, such as how phone calls are handled.
“Previously, divisions each set their own standards for how to handle phone calls,” said Manning-Courtney. “But that’s not serving families well—especially those with kids who have multiple diagnoses and deal with multiple clinics. They need to know each clinic will deliver a consistent experience—from hours of availability to the way their questions are addressed. Families don’t see us as a collection of independent divisions; they see us as one Cincinnati Children’s, and we need to behave that way."
In FY19, Manning-Courtney and her team will continue to standardize processes but will also focus on access. In July they launched “Access Camp,” a pilot program involving four clinics looking at ways to make it easier for patients and families to come to Cincinnati Children’s.
“These aren’t the things that make news, but they make a big difference for our families,” she said. “It’s vital for us to do them well.”
