Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Patient Experience

Patient Experience development and research at Yale Psychiatric Hospital represents a pivotal facet of our ongoing commitment to elevating the quality of healthcare delivery. Our overarching objective is to enhance organizational workflows and processes directed at improving patient outcomes. Our patient experience initiatives begin with a rigorous psychometric development process with input from patients and leading national healthcare experts that yields a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data providing insights about patients' needs, motivations, goals, and outcomes.

Presently, our patient experience work is distinctly oriented toward the formulation and validation of a comprehensive suite of metrics applicable across a spectrum of programs within Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. This encompasses areas such as inpatient care, interventional psychiatry, outpatient services, family patient experience initiatives, and telehealth interventions, among others. In pursuit of this endeavor, we are constructing a conceptual framework to elucidate the multifaceted dimensions of patient experience while propelling innovations aimed at crafting healthcare systems that promote respect and dignity for all and optimize the overall landscape of patient care.

The "Psychiatric Inpatient Patient Experience (PIX)" measure, formulated in 2021, is the culmination of efforts by an interdisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners from the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital.

Treatment Team Relationship (6 questions):
The synergy between patients and care providers, characterized by reciprocal respect, attentive communication, and a fortified therapeutic partnership, all converging towards common therapeutic objectives.

Healing Environment (7 questions):
The distinctive attributes of the inpatient milieu that are conducive to patient recovery include a clean environment, a secure and quiet space, diverse social and recreational activities, and exposure to natural light or outdoor settings.

Treatment Effectiveness (6 questions):
The accessibility, utility, and pertinence of therapeutic modalities within the framework of the inpatient care landscape and resources and support in anticipation of hospital discharge.

Nursing and Team Presence (7 questions):
Intentional engagement focused on patient recovery and addressing patients’ immediate needs while emphasizing the significance of a cohesive and reliable team.

Measurement Specifications: The said measure encompasses 26 questions spanning the above four domains. The measure employs a five-point Likert Scale, ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree," supplemented with a discretionary "does not apply" response option. A net promoter question, complemented by open-ended prompts for qualitative insights, is included along with elective demographics with predefined categorical selections.