Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Trillium Health Partners (THP), a large academically-affiliated health center in Ontario, Canada, recognized the limitations of traditional paper-based and telephone surveys in understanding the breadth of patient experience (PX). In response, THP overhauled its data collection methods, integrating email, QR codes, and tablets to broaden participation and enable rapid quality improvements. Using Qualtrics as a central platform, the team employed advanced tools including StatsIQ for quantitative analysis, TextIQ for natural language processing, and N-Vivo for in-depth examination of open-ended comments. A pilot study focused on four medicine units-two with the highest and two with the lowest PX scores based on patient ratings-revealed key enablers and barriers to patient PX. Positive experiences often emerged from effective communication, empathy, and responsiveness, while negative perceptions stemmed from operational inefficiencies and insufficient information sharing. Tailored regression models for each unit shed light on their unique PX drivers, offering insights into how emotional support, engagement, and teamwork shape patient perceptions. By illustrating how diverse, rapidly collected patient feedback can inform timely interventions, this approach advances the organization's capacity to implement evidence-based changes. The lessons learned highlight the importance of integrating various data collection channels and analytical techniques to capture a wider spectrum of voices and experiences, ultimately guiding collaborative, data-driven quality improvement efforts across the health system's clinical programs and functions.