SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Bringing Southern Hospitality Back to Patient Experience

Pdf Summary

Northwell Health’s Division of Hospital Medicine identified a decline in HCAHPS “Medicine Division Doctor Communication” scores beginning in March 2020, likely linked to reduced physician-patient interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, increased inpatient volume, and physician burnout.<br /><br />To address this, the team partnered with the Clinician Experience Project, an app-based physician coaching program featuring brief pre-recorded videos, reflective questions, and action plans focused on communication skills. The program was introduced during monthly academic conferences and included discussion of real patient encounters, practical tips for daily use, and follow-up conversations about how prior strategies were applied.<br /><br />The goals were to improve patient experience by strengthening doctor-patient communication, reduce variability in how hospitalists interact with patients, create a more consistent communication approach, and improve clinician satisfaction by helping physicians build better connections with patients.<br /><br />Results showed improvement in communication scores. On non-teaching units staffed by hospitalists, the average “Medicine Division Doctor Communication” score increased by 3.87% from 2021 to 2022. The presentation also showed unit-level improvements across several inpatient units.<br /><br />Overall, the project suggests that short, reflective, skills-based coaching can help restore effective communication practices after the disruptions of the pandemic and improve both patient experience and clinician engagement.

Asset Subtitle

Matan Halpern

Meta Tag

Author List Danielle Aronsky, Matan Halpern, Nayla Z. Idriss

Category Innovations

Concept Inpatient Communication

Concept Medicine Division Doctor Communication

Concept Doctor-Patient Communication

Concept HCAHPS

Concept Patient Satisfaction

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Northwell

Presenting Author Matan Halpern

Track Communication

Keywords

Northwell Health

hospital medicine

HCAHPS

doctor communication

patient experience

physician coaching

Clinician Experience Project

COVID-19 pandemic

clinician satisfaction

communication skills

Inpatient Communication

Medicine Division Doctor Communication

Doctor-Patient Communication

HCAHPS

Patient Satisfaction