Positive input

“It also has to do with the philosophy behind it,” Van der Werf continues. “The positive approach of CareRate aligns very well with our institution. As a result, people on the floor are happy to participate. In my opinion, they are more enthusiastic than resistant within the organization. A genuine culture of improvement is emerging.” Head of Radiology, Neeltje Loose, adds, “For me, a big plus is that people, with the help of the improvement application, also discover their strengths.” Although CareRate is a young organization, the approach is distinctive and professional, according to Van der Werf. “It seems like they have done it twenty times before.” That professionalism instills confidence. “If you have to arrange and figure everything out yourself, it takes a lot of time. You miss the substantive knowledge. Thanks to the input from CareRate, we had a playbook ready from day one.”

Empowerment of departments

“The strength of CareRate’s approach is that the departments have complete control,” says project leader Monique van der Linden. “Employees can decide for themselves what they want to know. This allows them to focus specifically on the needs of their own patients. The information obtained in this way is always relevant, which creates a strong sense of involvement among employees.” Loose agrees with this. “Through CareRate’s approach, a negative experience is seen as an opportunity for improvement. This is contagious. In my experience, employees are enjoying collecting feedback more and more. And thanks to the user-friendly nature of the improvement application, it is easy and quick. It takes no more than about ten minutes per day.”

Short-term information

“Departments can take immediate action based on the feedback received. It’s a whole different ballgame compared to the traditional patient satisfaction surveys,” says Van der Linden. “Those surveys lack the real-time information that is so valuable. We don’t want the completion of the questionnaires to be seen as just another survey because it’s not.” Van der Werf agrees, stating, “As a healthcare institution, you need to be in an active improvement mode. And not every two years with a comprehensive survey, but on a daily basis.” Van der Linden adds, “It’s a continuous process that keeps you sharp.”