Background: Patient satisfaction provides valuable insight on how to improve the patient experience. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey is a method that measures patient satisfaction which includes nursing and provider communication. Ineffective communication is detrimental to patient satisfaction as it can lead to medical errors and sentinel events. Additionally, acute care hospitals are required to collect and publicly report HCAHPS data to receive their full Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) annual payment. Therefore, it is imperative for hospitals to have initiatives in place to ensure there is effective communication between the nurse and patient. Methods: Based on a midwestern hospital's HCAHPS data in 2021, all inpatient units were found to have an average of 16 points below the national benchmark of patient and nursing communication. During this 12-week quality improvement project, a communication bundle was implemented on a unit within this midwestern hospital. Components of the bundle included: unit rounding, and informative sessions, a modified SMART communication tool, and patient handouts. The Change Theory and Jean Watson's Theory of Caring were used to guide this project. Patient satisfaction was obtained through patient verbal feedback at the bedside by the CNS. The Nurse Quality of Communication with Patient Questionnaire (NQCPQ) was used to measure the quality of patient-nurse communication. Results: Patient feedback was positive overall regarding the modified SMART communication tool. Based on the nursing staff perspective, there was an improvement in the quality of communication between the nurse and patient. Conclusion: Further research is necessary to determine the best interventions to improve patient satisfaction.
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