Patient Crusaders

The Patient Crusaders ask the following questions to help define elements of the reduce-fear-and-make-patients-feel-comfortable system ... 

The Patient Crusaders drafted a picture that incorporated as many system elements as they could define. In the process, they made many drawings, had some debates, and finally aligned their thinking. 

The Patient Crusaders end up with a 10-element system for reducing fear and increasing patient comfort (Exhibit 5.1), including the following areas of focus ... 

Based on the prioritization matrix shown in Exhibit 5.2, the Patient Crusaders determined that the highest-scoring problem statements—4, 5, 6, and 7—were the best ones to pursue in coming up with an innovative solution for the JTBD. Some of the team s thinking was as follows ... 

Scenario Let s see how KJ Method helped the Patient Crusaders team organize and prioritize their ideas for making dental patients more comfortable and less afraid during treatment (also see Heuristic Redefinition, Technique 5). 

The Patient Crusaders team voted to implement a few of the simple and inexpensive ideas right away, including welcome letters, confirmation calls, and warm towels at the end of the appointment. They ranked several other ideas as potentially feasible solutions and will revisit these at a later date. 

Alexander KP Roe MT, Chen AY et al. Evolution in cardiovascular care for elderly patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes results from the CRUSADE National Quality Improvement Initiative. J Am Coll Cardiol 2005 46 1479-1487. 

The latest health and safety smvey from the American Nurses Association (ANA) makes it clear that the efforts to protect nurses from occupational injuries remain a crusade-in-progress. The survey indicated that hospitals appear to be safer workplaces today than 10 years ago, when the last ANA survey was conducted. Safe needle devices and patient-lifting equipment are more available today than a decade ago. However, responses of more than 4500 RNs that participated in the ANA 2011 Health and Safety Survey indicated the same top three concerns were identified by the 2001 participants and in slightly higher percentages ... 

---