Quality Improvement Project to Improve Patients' Satisfaction of Care with Implementation of a Standardized Telephone Communications Pathway

With more and more cancer care being delivered to patients in an outpatient setting, it is becoming essential for clinics to have a standardized telephone communication pathway system. A telephone communication pathway can positively impact patients' quality of life since we know that delaying medical care can negatively impact health, creating otherwise avoidable complications and stress and diminishing patients' confidence in their care. Without a well-developed telephone communication pathway system, symptom management and experience suffer, and the quality of patient care decreases. A strategy was formulated to assess patient satisfaction with a newly implemented standardized telephone communication pathway form using the Model for Improvement framework in response to an expressed need. Through rapid PDSA cycling and voluntary patient-reported questionnaire results, the telephone communication pathway system at an outpatient oncology clinic was evaluated. Evidence-based modifications focused on patient experience and satisfaction, and post-intervention data showed improvement in every category: treated with respect, received accurate information, needs were met, improved care, and overall positive experience.