NYC Hospital to educate patients using Opinionmeter survey kiosks, tablets
August 31, 2009
Opinionmeter International, a maker of survey kiosks and other consumer survey technology, has announced a partnership with New York City's Metropolitan Hospital Center to deploy Opinionmeter's touchscreen tablets and kiosks. Metropolitan will use the technology to survey patient and staff members about their knowledge of patient safety.
According to a news release from Opinionmeter, Metropolitan obtained a grant from the HHC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., to fund the survey effort, which will help the institution promote the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals, or NPSGs:
The purpose of the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals is to promote improvements in patient safety, which would include improving the accuracy of patient identification, the effectiveness of communication among caregivers and the safety of using medications. In addition, they seek to reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections, encourage patients' active involvement in their own care as a patient safety strategy and improve recognition and response to changes in (a) patient's condition.
Irene Quinones, associate director of patient safety and cultural competency for Metropolitan Hospital Center, says Opinionmeter's survey capabilities will help providers promote patient involvement, which it believes is a crucial part of the patient experience:
The Joint Commission has made patient involvement a priority by including the issue in its National Patient Safety Goals. We strongly believe in doing whatever we can to educate the patient and to involve them in their medical care. The Opinionmeter technology allows us to do this. We are delighted with the findings from our patient surveys, and we are expanding its inclusion to other areas.
Metropolitan also will use Opinionmeter's technology to obtain patient feedback about the provider experience at outpatient clinics, the release says.