Pulse

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER PULSE March 22, 1991 Patients Are Our Business at U Hospital Editor's Note: The following was compiled by supervisors in Ambulatory Care Services in response to the Hospital's focus on patient service. Have you ever wondered what happened to a customer... the one who never returns? According to an article concerning why customers quit, U. S. News and World Report indicates that 1 percent die, 3 percent move away, 5 percent develop other friendships, 14 percent leave for competitive reasons, while 68 percent quit because of an attitude of indiffer-ence toward the customer by the dealer or some employee. At Univer-sity Hospital, patients are our custom-ers. As Ambulatory Care Services staff, we are acutely aware of the need to assist the patient through the clinic visit. From the team of excellent health- care providers, to the clerk who explains an unexpected delay, clinic personnel are there to provide assistance. One clinic manager encourages continuous patient feedback through informal conversa-tions about the visit. How did your treatment go? Any problems getting to the clinic today? The patient expects a knowledgeable, efficient and caring staff. This isessential for return visits and recommendations to family and friends; a great marketing tool. There are considerations to main-taining optimal patient satisfaction: • Increased number of Ambulatory Care patients. • Adequate staffing. • Complex scheduling problems. • Patient waiting time. • Safe, close and adequate parking. Ambulatory Care Services is committed to providing the highest quality care utilizing the most advanced knowledge, methods and techniques. This, however, does not guarantee patient satisfaction. Patients expect courtesy and caring on a personal level. A recent Ambulatory Care project involves the gathering of information from individuals regarding their clinic visits. Comments made from a randomly selected group of patients representing all the clinic areas helped the committee lay the groundwork for a Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire. Data from this survey will highlight areas that need more concentrated effort. The intended outcome is to ensure a satisfied repeat customer ( patient). Patient satisfaction is not limited to the outpatient clinics. It is a hospitalwide concern. Questions or comments concerning achieving this goal can be directed to Nancy Farley, x 1- 7246, chair of the Patient Satisfac-tion Committee. Pingree Heads U Medical Alumni Salt Lake City ophthalmologist George C. Pingree, M. D., has been named president of the U School of Medicine Alumni Association. Dr. Pingree, a Salt Lake City native, earned his bachelor's and medical degrees from the U in 1959 and 1962, respectively. He is a member of the Cottonwood Hospital medical staff and is an assistant professor on the clinical faculty of the U Department of Ophthalmology. He will serve a three- year term as head of the medical alumni group. There are approximately 2,400 graduates of the U School of Medi-cine in practice throughout the United States, with large numbers of alumni in the states of Utah, California, Arizona, Idaho and Washington. Also falling under the Association's umbrella are some 6,000 physicians who have completed residencies at the U of U Affiliated Hospitals. Dr. Pingree is joined by other officers Peter V. Sundwall, M. D. (' 65), vice president, family practice, Murray; Cecil O. Samuelson, M. D. (' 70), secretary, internal medicine, U School of Medicine and vice presi-dent, medical affairs, Intermountain Health Care, Inc.; and Joseph Dr. Pingree Charles " Chuck" Rich Jr., M. D. (' 65), a Salt Lake City neurosurgeon and immediate past- president of the Association; and a 21- member board of directors. Clinical Alert The National Cancer Institute wants to alert clinicians to the potential benefits of adjuvant therapy of rectal cancer using a sequential regimen of 5- fluoroura-cil ( 5- FU)- based chemotherapy and radiation therapy. For more information, contact Kathleen McCloskey, xl- 4686. S o m e t h i n g ' s A f o o t . . . University Hospital's Solely FunandToe- titillating Saturday, April 13,9 a. m. Cost is $ 9, including T- shirt. Register in Community Relations or Medical Illustrations. UUMC Briefs Award: University Hospital's En-vironmental Services has been honored for its hiring of Utahns with disabilities. The department was recognized by the Utah Rehabilitation Association and the Governor's Committee on Employment for People with Disabilities. Tickets: The Cashier's Office is offering discount tickets to Ballet West's performance of " Romeo and Juliet," which runs April 5- 7 and 10- 13. To order your tickets, call xl- 2100. Bunny Treats: The Auxiliary will sell personalized chocolate Easter eggs, Friday, March 29,9 a. m.- l p. m., on the first floor bridge. Cost is $ 2.50. • The University Hospital lobby gallery's current exhibit features children's art curated by Lallapalooza and the Utah Arts Council. " Images of a Garden: A Knee- high View" is comprised of drawings and paintings of all kinds of gardens from a child's perspective. The exhibit runs through May 15. Poison Prevention: Poison proof your place. It's National Poison Pre-vention Week, so take time to assess if you've put poison in its place at your house. Also, memorize the number of the Intermountain Regional Poison Control Center ( located at University Hospital), 581- 2151. Books for Africa: The Medical Center is conducting a book drive for a medical library in Africa. If you have a spare general science or clinical medical text to donate, the folks at Chiko- lyke's Library at Bendel State University in Nigeria would be very appreciative. According to Tiffeny Stees, Department of Internal Medicine, who is coordinating the drive, five large boxes of books already have been collected. The drive will continue through the end of March, when the volumes will be shipped to Nigeria. For more information, or to donate a book, call Stees at xl- 7818. Courteous Driving: University officials would like to remind all campus personnel to do their part in maintaining the " fragile peace with our neighbors" when it comes to University traffic. What You Say? If you have a question or suggestion for Hospital administrators, use Direct Line. Boxes are located in the cafeteria and by the patient elevators on the first floor. InfoFair Workshops Will Feature Varous Topics InfoFair ' 91, slated for April 4 on the health sciences campus, will feature a number of workshops, including Workstations, Internet and BITNET Resources, Presentation Graphics and Evaluating Medical Office Management Software and Hardware. The Workstations presentation will be directed by Robert Levy and John Konrad of Sun Microsystems, Salt Lake City. Workstations are super high- powered personal computers that can accomplish multiple tasks simultaneously. For example, the workstation can do number crunching while you work on a document and at the same time allow you to access your electronic mail without interrupt-ing projects in progress. Internet and BITNET are national networks that link faculty, staff and students at universities worldwide via electronic mail and resource- sharing. Among these resources are the online catalogs of academic libraries. Neil Reiland of Creative Ink, Murray, will show health- care professionals alternative presentation techniques, while two physicians will evaluate various medical office automation software and hardware.