Twice-daily team huddles with the entire health-care team provide opportunities to discuss patients’ needs prior to their visits.
Posted Jan. 11, 2011
UC Davis Health System has received the annual Spirit of Excellence Award for Service from Modern Healthcare magazine.
The honor, one of five announced by the magazine in December, recognized the health system for its innovative “patient-centered medical home” approach begun two years ago. It comes with a $5,000 cash award.
The medical home, an effort in place among physicians and staff in the family and community medicine department, is designed to improve the patient experience. In part, that happens through implementation of the electronic health record system throughout the physician network, which frees up medical assistants from clerical duties so they can be more patient-focused, according to Thomas Balsbaugh, the department's residency program director.
“Receiving the Spirit of Excellence Award is a wonderful recognition of the hard work it takes to help practices change.”
— Thomas Balsbaugh
“Teamwork will be a key to both improved patient satisfaction and improved efficiency,” Balsbaugh said. “Receiving the Spirit of Excellence Award is a wonderful recognition of the hard work it takes to help practices change.”
The approach also features twice-daily team huddles among faculty, residents, nursing and medical assisting staff, clerical staff and supervisors to discuss patients’ specific needs prior to their visits.
The patient home model already has proved effective. Patient satisfaction surveys have found that in July of this year 78 percent of patients rated their overall quality of care as ”excellent,” up from 55 percent in February 2009. Similarly, 88 percent of patients said they could schedule timely appointments in July 2010, up from 29 percent of patients in February 2009.
Modern Healthcare is an award-winning health-care publication and industry leader. It publishes online and in print.