Introduction: In the modern age of healthcare, the concept of quality has become a focus for reform and improvement. Neurosurgery will be no exception, as hospitals begin to adopt patient-centered healthcare models revolving around patient satisfaction to adapt to the stresses of ever-changing reimbursement structures. Among the neurosurgical community, there has been great debate about what “quality” is, and how it should be quantified.
Methods: The authors discuss a novel educational module aimed at patients recently diagnosed with an intracranial aneurysm. The module was designed based on patient feedback and coupled with current data driven literature to address the common questions and uncertainty surrounding the treatment strategies, pre-, and post-operative care.
Results: Following implementation of our educational module, patient satisfaction has significantly increased in a variety of areas. Most notably, patients enjoyed the interface of the iPad with interactive technology based content and felt more prepared for the entire experience, which framed expectations in a concrete, realistic way. This allowed patients to ask more pertinent questions to their own lives, i.e. instead of "how will I feel after surgery?" to ask "Will I be able to lift my child after surgery?" Areas of improvement were also identified, including scheduling follow up appointments before surgery occurs.
Conclusions: In conclusion, the implementation of our educational module has been met with great enthusiasm by our patients. Previously treated patients have expressed that the module would have been greatly appreciated prior to treatment. The framework outlined here, if implemented with the unique characteristics desired by each institution’s patient population, promises to improve the quality of care delivered, and improve patient expectations and satisfaction. We encourage the adoption of similar modules across the nation.
Patient Care: This will improve patient care by influencing patient expecations and care delivery. Further, by identifying areas of importance in our patient population, we are able to tailor our delivery of care to increase patient satisfaction. These strategies may be applied to any field of neurosurgery.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will 1)be able to identify areas of quality improvement in the area of cerebrovascular neurosurgery 2) implement quality improvement measures based on our experiences at the participant's facility to improve patient care and patient experience