The Patient Experience

One of the many ways that the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital (PSFDH) improves the delivery of care and services is through patient and family engagement. Anticipating the patient’s needs, strengthening patient engagement, improving access to care, and ensuring the quality and safety of care are key to a patient’s healthcare journey. This includes listening to and making changes informed by patients’ experiences through tools such as online feedback surveys.

 

Beginning April, 2024, when you arrive at PSFDH for a clinic appointment or other type of care visit (Emergency, Day Surgery etc.) Patient Registration staff will ask you for your email address so that you can be invited to participate in a short online voluntary survey.  The online voluntary survey is conducted by Qualtrics XM and the responses you provide will inform how care and service are delivered at PSFDH.

 

PSFDH sincerely appreciates your participation in the patient experience survey.  If you have questions at any time regarding the survey or the care you received at PSFDH, please reach out to Patient Relations at patientrelations@psfdh.on.ca.

 

For more information on the patient experience survey, please visit https://www.oha.com/quality-safety-and-patient-and-family-centred-care/patient-experience-measurement. 


 

Frequently Asked Questions 

 

1.  Why am I receiving an email from PSFDH to complete a survey?

Your feedback is important to us. One of the many ways we make this possible is by placing the patient experience at the core of everything that we do. Anticipating patients’ needs, strengthening patient engagement, improving access to care, and ensuring the quality and safety of care. This includes listening to and making changes informed by our patients’ experiences through mechanisms such as surveys.

 

2.  What does the survey invitation look like?

Below is a sample of the email invitation that you will receive:


Subject:  Tell [Site Name] about your recent visit

 

La version francaise suit le texte anglais./French text follows.

 

Dear [FirstName] [LastName], 


We would like to hear about your recent care experience at [SiteName].  We place a high value on your input to help us provide exceptional care, and we hope you will take a moment to let us know what we are doing right and where we need to improve.  Your advice and feedback will directly impact the care and services we provide to future patients and families.


 

Please click on the following button to start your survey.  You have the option to complete it at a later date by revisiting the same link. Please complete the survey at your earliest convenience.  This survey link will remain active until [Month, Day, Year].

 

[Survey Link]

 

We appreciate your valuable time and participation in the survey.  Your effort will help us to improve care to all our patients. 

 

Sincerely, 

[Signature Image with Name and contact details]

 

Click the following link to opt-out of future communications:  Unsubscribe 

 

3.  What if I don’t want to complete the survey?

You do not have to complete the survey. You may ignore or delete the survey email invitation, as well as any reminders you receive to complete the survey. The survey link is active for seven days before expiring.

 

In the survey invitation, you may also choose to unsubscribe. Alternatively, you can contact the Patient Relations Office to let them know you do not want to receive this survey in the future.

 

Phone: 613-283-2330 Ext 1149; Email: patientrelations@psfdh.on.ca 

 

4.  Is PSFDH the only hospital sending this survey?

This initiative was undertaken by the Ontario Hospital Association and is a new strategy for working collectively to measure the hospital patient experience in Ontario. Other Ontario hospitals are also participating in sharing this survey with selected patients.

 

5.  Which patients are receiving this survey?

Patients who have provided an email address at registration, and have been discharged from one of our acute in-patient units or our emergency department or day surgery may receive an email invitation to complete the survey.

 

6.  Are the answers I provide secure online?

Yes. Qualtrics is a company hosting a cloud-based software platform for experience management and measurement. Qualtrics offers a secure and modern tool for data collection and analysis.

 

Through these surveys, it will be necessary to load a minimal amount of Personal Health Information in Qualtrics (i.e, where and when health services were provided and email addresses), but this is done to enable patient outreach.

 

The Qualtrics platform is widely used by healthcare and other organizations in Ontario and around the world. If you have questions about Qualtrics or the privacy of your health information, please contact patientexperience@oha.com.

 

7.  What will PSFDH do with the survey results?

The survey results are very important to PSFDH and will enable continuous improvement and enhanced service and care delivery. The results will become part of PSFDHs process of evaluating and reviewing the hospital experience, and will help us learn where to focus and develop strategic solutions.


8.  What questions will be asked? (Two samples shown below)

PSFDH will be launching four (4) surveys developed and provided by the Ontario Hospital Association:  The questions will ask about your  experience(s) as well as ask demographic questions about you (example:  gender identity, racial/ethnic group, etc.) You have the option to provide responses to this series of questions.

9.  Admitted patients who were in our acute care units will be asked nine questions about their experience at PSFDH ranging from communication with health care team to your specific visit experience. The complete survey will be sent to you via the email you supplied. Sample questions are set out below:

  • Do you feel that there was good communication about your care between doctors, nurses and other hospital staff? (Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always, Don’t Know/Not sure)
  • Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in decisions about your care and treatment? (Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always)
  • Did you receive enough information from hospital staff about what to do if you were worried about your condition or treatment after you left the hospital? (Not at all, Partly, Quite a bit, Completely)
  • What else would you like to say about this inpatient experience? (Please do not include any names, contact information, or identifying information.)

10. Patients who received care in the emergency department will be asked these nine questions:


During this emergency department visit…

  • If you had a long wait, were you told why? (Yes, No, but I would have liked a reason, No but I did not mind, Don’t know/Can’t remember, I did not have a long wait)
  • Did you feel that there was good communication about your care between doctors, nurses and other hospital staff? (Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always, Don’t know/Not sure)
  • What else would you like to say about this emergency department experience? (Please do not include any names, contact information, or identifying information.)

11.  Can we connect with someone at PSFDH to ask questions?

You are welcome to contact the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital (PSFDH) Privacy Office.

 

      By mail:

      PSFDH Privacy Office

      60 Cornelia St West, Smiths Falls, Ontario K7A 2A1

 

      By telephone: 613-283-2330 ext. 1149

      By email: privacyofficer@psfdh.on.ca

 

12.  I would prefer to contact someone about my experience than complete a survey.

You are welcome to contact the Office of the Patient Experience and share your feedback.

 

Patient Relations staff can be reached by phone, email or letter.  An in-person meeting can always be arranged as well.

 

      By telephone: 613-283-2330 ext. 1149

      By email: privacyofficer@psfdh.on.ca

 

13.  What language does the survey come in?

The surveys are currently available in only English and French. The hope is to be able to offer this survey in other languages as soon as they are made available by the Ontario Hospital Association.


If you need help understanding the survey or would like to speak with someone directly about your experience as a patient, please contact the Patient Relations Office.

 

Patients, families and visitors are always welcome to contact the Patient Relations Office to share their feedback about their PSFDH experience.

 

      By telephone:  613-283-2330 ext. 1149

      By email:  patientrelations@psfdh.on.ca