Sound Physicians Present at Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Conference 2014

Tacoma, Wash. – April 10, 2014 – Sound Physicians’ leaders were selected to present a case study on an innovative process to improve clinical outcomes, “The Impact of RN and MD Rounds on Patient Experience,” at the 2014 Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Conference.

Sound Physicians is a leading hospitalist organization focused on driving improvements in quality, satisfaction and efficiency of inpatient health care delivery. Sound Physicians’ clinical and performance management leaders, Marina Farah, MD, Senior Director, Performance Improvement; Kristi Frantz, MSS, VP Performance Improvement; and Mark A. Rudolph, MD, SFHM, VP Patient Experience and Physician Development presented at the Patient Experience Conference—the premier annual event for professionals passionate about improving the patient experience in healthcare.

At the conference, they shared the story of how RN MD Rounds, initiated at NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield, CA and VacaValley Medical Center in VacaValley, CA collaborated to develop a process that has significantly improved the patient experience of care as well as nursing and physician satisfaction and collaboration.

The goal of the RN MD Rounding model was three-fold: improve the patient experience through coordinated nursing and doctor communication, improve communication between nurses and doctors and improve the overall care team satisfaction. The team recognized that poor communication between physicians and nurses could result in less coordinated patient care which adversely impacts the patient experience.

The pilot project ran for two years, eventually leading up to all floors adopting the RN and MD Rounding model. The hospital noted improvement in Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Doctor and Nurse Communication scores following implementation after two quarters. To learn about the methodology for RN and MD Rounds and the results from this initiative, contact Sound Physicians at info@soundphysicians.com.