Date of Graduation
Spring 5-14-2020
Document Type
Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
College/School
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Department/Program
Nursing
Program
Family Nurse Practitioner
First Advisor
Dr. Jo Loomis
Second Advisor
Dr. Sandhu
Abstract
Problem: Patients spend considerable amounts of valuable time waiting to be seen by physicians in outpatient clinical settings. Many consider waiting as wasted time, inactive time, or as a lost opportunity which can cause frustration. Research suggests that long clinic wait times have a major impact on patients with cancer causing a significant amount emotional distress. Context: At the hospital and thoracic oncology clinic implementation site which is located in northern California, the target time for a New Patient Visit (NPV) is less than or equal to 90 minutes, and less than or equal to 60 minutes for a Return Patient Visit (RPV). For the months of January 2018-May 2018, approximately 70% of NPV appointments were greater than 90 minutes and approximately 65% of RPV appointments were greater than 60 minutes. Intervention: A DNP student developed a project in the thoracic oncology clinic utilizing entertainment and education through technology to help address dissatisfaction with long waiting times. Measures: The ‘Entertainment Options’ portion utilized post-intervention questionnaires to evaluate if an iPad used for entertainment makes clinic wait times more tolerable. The ‘Education video’ portion used a post-intervention test to evaluate efficacy of a chemotherapy education video in patient knowledge retention. Results: Ninety-three percent of the patients who used the iPad for entertainment either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that using the iPad while waiting to see a provider made the wait time more tolerable thus increasing overall satisfaction with the visit. The patients who watched the chemotherapy education video received a score of 80% or greater on the chemotherapy posttest indicating knowledge retention. Conclusion: To effectively improve patient satisfaction with waiting and improve chemotherapy medical knowledge, integration of iPad tablets used for both entertainment and education is an effective method.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Tiffany, "Reducing Frustration with Wait Times Utilizing Technology and Education: A Patient Satisfaction Improvement Model" (2020). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects. 217.
https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp/217
