U.S. ARMY GARRISON - YONGSAN, KOREA -- When you are walking down the hallways in the 121st Combat Support Hospital/Brian Allgood the Army Community Hospital, there is one person you can never miss. Not only because her face is on the wall of every clinic but because Ms. Sarah Chang doesn't miss the chance to engage with the patients while she collects cards from the comment box.
She friendly asks the patients how their experience was and makes sure they can leave the hospital with smile on their faces. Ms. Sarah Chang, 121st CSH/BAACH Patient Representative, joined the Clinical Support Division's Patient Advocate Office in August 2016. Her job as the Patient Representative is to assist 121st CSH/BAACH beneficiaries. The office acts a liaison between 121st CSH/BAACH staff and patients, providing active support to resolve patient-related concerns by working closely with each clinic or department's leadership. The office is basically the hub for improving patient satisfaction in 121st CSH/BAACH.
Spending her adolescent years in Army community in Korea as an Army brat, she has always felt indebted to the community. Her father served in U.S. Army for 26 years and she wanted to give back to the community which helped her growing up with the respect to the military families and empathetic personality along with her strong ability in problem solving.
Advocating for patients was perfect fit for her since she sees them as her family. "Our patients are mainly service members and their families and I always remind myself that my family was one of them years ago. This helps me much thinking in their shoes." said Chang.
Her passion wanting to serve those who so selflessly serve the country always gives her the motivation to start the days at work. "They deserve the best health care and customer service and I want to contribute to that with all I can" emphasized Chang.
With that reason, 121st CSH/BAACH has been perfect place to work for Chang. 121st CSH/BAACH has been putting the patient satisfaction as one of its top priorities and making numerous efforts to bring pleasant experiences to the patients. As part of that, 121st CSH/BAACH has been strongly endorsing the staffs to use 'AIDET' when interacting with patients which is encouraged by Army Medical Command.
"AIDET is acronym for Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation and Thank you." Chang shared how the staff in the hospital can apply AIDET to their patient encounters.
• 'Acknowledge' the patients by smiling, making eye contact and using open body language.
• 'Introduce' yourself by name, position and department and provide your role and credentials.
• Inform the patients with the 'duration' of the test, procedure, appointment or admission so they can expect how long they would wait.
• 'Explain' what is happening and what the next step will be with understandable language and terminology.
• And finally, 'Thank' patients for trusting us with their care. This is a simply the best way to show appreciation and help providing a positive closing.
"It is all about taking ownership of patient concern. We can always provide improved service if we keep the service recovery in mind. Many times, I encounter patients concerns which I can't solve by myself. Then I try to find the adequate department where they can provide the proper solution to the patient concern and that's why I think that every staff in the hospital should think of themselves as the Patient Advocate" said Chang.
"Customer service is closely related to positive medical outcome and more likelihood for patients to follow through treatment plan. Patients with better experiences are more likely to adhere to the treatment plan and have better clinical outcomes" said Maj. Sean Seay, Chief of Clinical Support Division.
Ms. Chang explained that sometimes just showing the patients that the staffs are making sincere effort to seek for solutions and look for ways to accommodate helps. "Most of the patients are appreciative and understanding once they witness they are respected and someone is trying to get the help they need."
"Measuring and improving patient experience contributes to a high quality culture" said Col. Erica Clarkson, the hospital commander. "Our patients are the reason we are here in Korea and we will continue to make efforts to ensure their experience with us is pleasant."
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