It is always hard to specify the beginning of a multifaceted project, such as the one focusing on the assessment of patient experience. The publication of the article by Manary possibly played a very important role in drawing attention to the limitations of “satisfaction” to evaluate the impact of the care process on the patient. What is true is that 2014 was a very active year in terms of the first assessments of patient experience. The Hospital Clínic Chronicity Care Programme team participated directly in several projects and initiatives were also identified in other areas.
Seven years ago, on 11 December 2014 the first conference was held on the “Approach to the assessment of patient experience”, organized by the Hospital Clínic Chronicity Care Programme and REDISSEC (Health Services Research Network on Chronic Diseases), with the participation of 74 professionals.
The objectives of the conference were to discuss the conceptual framework of the approach to patient experience (which is different from satisfaction), to analyse the methodological approaches, and to give a brief presentation of the results of several patient experience assessments.
The conceptual framework and the methodological approach were developed by Dr. Joan Escarrabill (Hospital Clínic) and Dr. Ismael Cerdà (CatSalut), whilst Dr. Xavier Clèries (Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili) approached the problem from the perspective of person-centred care, and Dr. Margarida Jansà (Hospital Clínic) from a therapeutic education perspective. Ms. Xisca Brunet (Hospital Clínic) presented the assessment strategy proposed to the Hospital Clínic Accident and Emergency Department based on interviews with patients at the time of hospital discharge. Dr. Xavier Clèries (Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili) presented the results of focus groups with patients who use respiratory therapies at home. Through a specific focus group, the psychologist Gemma Peralta (Fundació Rossend Carrasco i Formiguera and UAB) presented the experience of patients who had undergone bariatric surgery due to morbid obesity.
Through focus groups, Dr. Margarida Jansà (Hospital Clínic), assessed the experience of patients in the continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) programme to treat diabetes that is hard to control.
Ms. Carme Guiteras (Consorci Hospitalari de Vic) explained the process of the incorporation of patient experience in improvement projects at the Consorci Hospitalari de Vic since 1988.
