People: our impact for patients and society
Each person is different. And everyone has their own wishes. We want to provide patients with the healthcare that is good for them as a person. At UMC Utrecht we therefore get to know them not only as patients, but as people. Because people themselves are the only ones who know what is important in their lives. And we would like to know that too. Our survey shows that patients are particularly keen to know how we get to know them as people, and how we collaborate with patients.
At UMC Utrecht we look at the person behind the patient in several ways.
We’d like to get to know you
At UMC Utrecht we use the ‘Wij leren u graag kennen’/ ‘We’d like to get to know you’ questionnaire to let patients share information on what is important for them. This helps our healthcare professionals to get to know their patients better. The questionnaire includes questions like: Which activities are important to you (now and in the future)? Who are important people in your life and why? And what are you concerned about when it comes to your health? The answers serve as a basis for the conversation with (the parents of) patients. It enables our healthcare professionals to know what is important so that together with (the parents of) patients they can achieve care that truly suits the patient.
In the last quarter of 2024, 66% of all adult patients filled in the questionnaire
For children and young people under the age of 18, the percentage was 37. Patients indicate that the questionnaire helps them to think about what is important to them in terms of care and treatment.
Evaluate and improve
In 2024 we also started with a trial in two departments to evaluate our healthcare with patients. In consultation with patients, nurses schedule a moment to talk about the care (usually on day 4 of hospitalization). Prior to the conversation, patients receive a short questionnaire so that they can prepare. Nurses use this questionnaire during the conversation in which they evaluate the received care together with the patient. This allows us to have an ongoing conversation with the patient so that we can improve our healthcare together. Nurses at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital have been evaluating care in this way with (the parents of) patients for some time already.
In addition, we continue to ask our patients about their experience at our outpatient units and upon intake in our hospital by means of our patient experience monitor (PEM). We use the findings to improve our healthcare. For example, it emerged that outpatients would like to be better informed about waiting times. We put ourselves to the task and have now ensured that waiting times in all our outpatient units are indicated on screens.
In 2024, 11.969 (parents of) our patients filled in our patient-experience-monitor (PEM)
Together we decide about healthcare, research, and education
We also actively involve patients in decisions on how we organize our healthcare as well as our research and education in general. We do this via our patient panel , in which more than 2,000 patients are involved. But also via our Bureau PatiëntenInzet which gathers input from about 100 actively participating patients. In order to convert the information we gather through these into actions for improvement, we started with patient-reporting consultations in 2024. This helps us to improve our healthcare, research, and education, and to align better with what patients want.
How do you ensure that information is clear to everyone?
We find it important that all our information should be clear to everyone. For example by avoiding complicated words. Instead of ‘prevention’, we now say ‘preventing disease’. And instead of ‘intramuscular’, ‘in the muscle’. In order to help our healthcare professionals in this regard, we launched the game ‘Which word do you replace?’ in 2024.
Animation videos through electronic patient record
Since 2024, patients can also find quick answers to questions by watching simple, short films. For instance on breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, radiotherapy, and examinations using a scan or ultrasound. Various examples can also be seen on our website, such as the video on endometriosis . To do this, we work with the company Indiveo . Patients can watch these short films in our patient folders on our website and via the new electronic patient record (EPR) . For the new EPR we also use standardized software for all our outpatient units. This makes it easier for us to share data between hospitals in the region. Our healthcare professionals also have faster and easier access to important information regarding a patient so that they can improve the care that patients receive.
Improved website following feedback
In 2024 we also made our website more accessible for the blind and visually impaired. To do so, we installed a tool on our website to enlarge or translate text or to have it read out loud. The idea came from a tip from Richard, a patient at UMC Utrecht . We were very happy to receive Richard’s suggestion and immediately got working on it. We also tell patients where and how they can find information and help them to understand it .
