Patient engagement study to identify and improve surgical experience

Background: Patient engagement is the establishment of active partnerships between patients, families, and health professionals to improve healthcare delivery. The objective of this project was to conduct a series of patient engagement workshops to identify areas to improve the surgical experience and develop strategies to address areas identified as high priority. Methods: Faculty surgeons and patients were invited to participate in three in-person meetings. Evaluation included identifying and developing strategies for three priority areas to improve the surgical experience and level of engagement achieved at each meeting. Results: Sixteen faculty surgeons and 32 patients participated. Some 63 themes to improve the surgical experience were identified; the three highest-priority themes were physician communication, discharge process, and expectations at home after discharge. Individual improvement strategies for these three prioritized themes (12, 36 and 6 respectively) were used to develop a formal strategic plan, and included a physician communication survey, discharge process worksheet and video, and guideline regarding what to expect at home after discharge. Overall, the level of engagement achieved was considered high by over 85 per cent of the participants. Conclusion: A high level of patient engagement was achieved. Priorities were identified with patients and surgeons to improve surgical experience, and strategies were developed to address these areas.