A new smartphone app that enables patients to provide immediate feedback on their experiences at the Derald H. Ruttenberg Treatment Center of The Tisch Cancer Institute is helping The Mount Sinai Hospital continue its efforts to provide exceptional care.
The app works this way: Upon arrival at the Ruttenberg Treatment Center, patients are asked to provide their cell phone numbers as they fill out their paperwork. Then the technology prompts them with a text message asking them to take a brief survey on their smartphones after they leave.
The app, called RateMyHospital®, conforms to the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule for patients, which protects individually identifiable health information. The quick survey asks patients 12 questions using a five-star rating system, with five as the highest value. They can rate their satisfaction with important aspects of care, such as scheduling appointments, office wait times, physician accessibility, and the cleanliness of the facility.
“The tool is easy for a patient to use and provides us with immediate feedback so that we can continue to improve the patient’s experience,” says Randall F. Holcombe, MD, Medical Director of the Derald H. Ruttenberg Treatment Center, and Director of Clinical Cancer Affairs at The Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Holcombe says the survey response has been “outstanding” since the center began using the app in July. Dozens of patients provided feedback within the first few weeks. “We are getting more responses than with traditional paper-based mail surveys,”
he adds.
According to Jeremy Boal, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, RateMyHospital will eventually be rolled out at all clinical areas of Mount Sinai. “We view real-time feedback as critical to being able to provide the best possible experience of care for patients,” he says. “RateMyHospital gives us that ability, and we anticipate that this technology and approach will rapidly accelerate our improvement efforts and outcomes.”