Can TQM Improve Patient Experience : A Comparative Study in Lebanese Hospitals

Abstract

Background: Patient experience incorporates the variety of relations that patients have within the hospital. These relations include the treatment plans, interactions with physicians, nurses, and other staff in hospitals. Patient experience is a vital constituent of health care quality and Total Quality Management (TQM), it embraces several facets of health care delivery such as getting timely appointments, easy access to ease and access to information, and communication with health care providers. Understanding patient experience is a key step in moving toward patient-centred care. The following intervention looks at the integration and implementation of total quality management (TQM) in order to improve patient experience within the health sector. Methodology : This intervention research uses data and intervention from Lebanese hospitals where one hospital was used an experimentation site and the other as control. Patient satisfaction score was calculated using a 42 item questionnaire at the beginning of the intervention. Then, TQM was implemented in one hospital while in the second hospital nothing was done. A multidisciplinary team followed up corrective action in the first hospital. The advancement was measured by calculating the patient satisfaction score after 6 months. Results : The results showed an improvement in patient satisfaction in the intervention hospital using TQM while patient satisfaction remained unchanged in the non-intervention hospital. The overall patient satisfaction score increased from 60% to 78% in Hospital 1 whereas the scores were 62% then 63% in Hospital 2. It is worth noting the aspects related to the physical environment, admission and discharge processes showed major improvement. Conclusion : When reflecting on the impact of the implementation of TQM in hospitals, there are various aspects that are of added value to patient experience that increases efficiency internally linking to communication and resulting