High-performing health systems are anchored in the efficient and effective understanding of the patient perspective to drive improvements in care quality and patient experience. For nearly two decades, the OHA has led a sector-wide patient experience measurement program that has changed and evolved to meet the shifting measurement needs and preferences of hospitals.
In late 2022, the OHA launched a new program, paving the way to modernizing patient experience measurement across the sector. Offering Ontario hospitals thought leadership and access to timely and insightful data and tools, the new program helps hospitals improve care quality and experience. The new program also enables the unique benefits of working collectively as a sector, such as achieving efficiencies by reducing duplication of efforts, facilitates knowledge exchange, and establishes benchmarking to understand performance relative to peers.
Strong Interest in the Modernized OHA-Led Program
Since its launch, there has been strong and sustained interest in the OHA-led program.
Attuned to current needs and designed to support the future evolution of patient experience measurement, the recommended software platform offers hospitals the flexibility to customize their measurement efforts to unique local contexts while maintaining the advantages of standardization, where appropriate. It also enables hospitals to reach more patients through cost-effective digital surveying means and opportunities to complete surveys at point-of-care, access data in real-time, build custom surveys to support local quality improvement (QI), efficiently identify actionable insights that drive QI efforts, and better engage clinicians, hospital staff, and stakeholders through meaningful reporting.
Future Opportunities
The OHA is working to strengthen and expand existing services for organizations participating in the OHA-led program and introduce new offerings. This includes:
- The launch of a provincial peer benchmarking initiative (more information coming soon).
- Enhancements to the measurement instruments available to hospitals, including the development of new short-form surveys, and exploring more ways to streamline measurement. Currently, participating hospitals have access to a library of 20+ standardized patient experience surveys.
- Fostering opportunities for collaboration, engagement and knowledge translation and exchange across hospitals through the OHA’s Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP is a provincial community providing thought leadership and inspiring change. Learn more about joining the CoP and future sessions.
Background and Context
Ontario hospitals are required to survey patients at least once every fiscal year, as per Ontario's Excellent Care for All Act, 2010. Additionally, patient experience is a core focus of the new Ontario Health Teams (as part of Bill 74, The People's Health Care Act, 2019), a priority indicator in hospital Quality Improvement Plans, and an Accreditation Canada/Health Standards Organization requirement.
