UCLA Continues to Achieve High Scores

When survey firm NRC Picker published its most recent consumer assessment data, the results were both stunning and unsurprising. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is now ranked in the 96th percentile of more than 6,000 hospitals across the nation. This is a stunningly good result, but at the same time it is unsurprising given UCLA’s steady and dramatic improvement in these rankings in recent years. Less than three years ago, the Westwood hospital occupied the 38th percentile. By the time of the move to the new hospital, it had climbed to the 75th.

The NRC Picker survey asks patients to rate caregiver behaviors that help determine the quality of the care environment.

In addition to an overall ranking for RRUCLA in the 96th percentile, some units ranked in the 99th percentile. SMUCLA had a number of well-ranked units, including the Emergency Department and Labor and Delivery, both of which ranked above the 90th percentile. Outpatient services and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital ranked high as well.

“We have long believed that UCLA delivers the ultimate in patient care,” asserts Amir Dan Rubin, chief operating officer, UCLA Hospital System. “In the past, however, when patients were asked about their experiences, they felt that we had significant improvement opportunities. Now patients tell us that our units are among the best in the nation.”

Keys to Patient Satisfaction

Amir Rubin, COO, feels that there have been four keys to improving the patient experience. “It starts with having fantastic people, and we are blessed to have the best in the world,” Amir explains. Next, the efforts of staff and leadership to develop their own patient experience standards was essential. Based on the C-ICARE template, they detailed specific actions that patients indicated are important to them. Caregiver training in best practices has made use of custom training videos to demonstrate successful approaches. Finally, continual feedback through C-ICARE assessment rounds, team huddle discussions and department celebrations remind us to assess ourselves through the eyes of our patients and their families.

The standards themselves — which are often small gestures like making sure to write your name on the whiteboard for all new inpatient encounters — function as cues to help establish good patient interactions and signal to patients a concern for their wellbeing. But the standards are just a starting point. Amir explains, “The reason we do so great is that people are giving of themselves and developing relationships with patients — they truly care.”