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For nearly two decades, the OHA has been an enabler of patient experience measurement services, supporting hospitals in driving improvements to patient care. The OHA's goal is to enable a modern, dynamic, scalable patient experience measurement solution that fosters the unique benefits of working collectively as a sector.

Introducing the Patient Experience Measurement Solution

In late 2022, the OHA invited Ontario hospitals to participate in an existing Government of Ontario Vendor of Record (VOR) to procure the Qualtrics XM platform. A global leading Experience Management (XM) solution, Qualtrics XM is used across a multitude of industries and sectors to measure and manage customer experiences, including healthcare organizations. Qualtrics XM is available to hospitals through Supply Chain Ontario Tender 7235 – Data Integration, Visualization and Analytics (DIVA) Software and Services. ​The OHA believes the new patient experience measurement solution will not only enable hospitals to relatively quickly resume data collection, but will also be a powerful platform for hospitals' longer-term individual and shared objectives.

Hospitals that missed the initial member webinars introducing the new solution, can access the August 4, 2022 pre​sentation slides (login required) and August 16, 2022 webinar​ recording and presentation slides (login required).

The Qualtrics XM platform offers hospitals the flexibility to customize their patient experience measurement efforts to unique local contexts while maintaining the advantages of standardization, where appropriate. Participating hospitals will have access to a library of 20+ standardized patient experience surveys​, peer be​nchmarking, and the benefits of collaboration and collective implementation. Additionally, the new solution will also enable 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.

Supporting Next Steps: Hospital Resources

The OHA is currently in the process of supporting hospitals with the explo​ration, procurement, and implementation of the new patient experience measurement solution with the development of a number of member resources.

• Hospitals in the initial exploration phase, are encouraged to review resources that can support their evaluation of the new solution.
• Hospitals interested in procuring the Qualtrics XM platform, can download agreement templates. 
• View the resource page developed for hospitals planning for implementation, or ​that are in the onboarding phase.

For more information about the OHA-recommended patient experience measurement solution leveraging the Government of Ontario's VOR, email patientexperience@oha.com.​​

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Background and Context

Ontario hospitals are required to survey patients at least once every fiscal year, according to Ontario's Excellent Care for All Act (ECFAA), 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.

In 2021, the OHA began a rigorous Request for Proposal (RFP) process to replace the contract that has been in place since 2016. For over a year, the OHA conducted and extensive market review, including an RFI and an RFP, to understand the available options for a patient experience management solution that would meet the needs of hospitals individually and collectively. 

However, in July 2022, the OHA shared news that contract negotiations were terminated since it was unable to achieve acceptable terms with the leading RFP proponent. Following consultation with its RFP review committee, which is comprised of hospital representatives, the OHA made the difficult decision that other RFP bid options could not meet the sector's expectations, and as such, cancelled the RFP on July 28, 2022.

Acknowledging members' desire for OHA-leadership, but not necessarily the need for an OHA-led contract, the OHA shifted its strategy and role in enabling value and collective benefits for the sector. The Government of Ontario's VOR arrangement presented a viable avenue that aligned with the core objectives for a new patient experience service: timeliness, flexibility, usability, affordability, and comparability.​