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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT01658644

Put a Face to a Name (Part A): The Effects of Photographic Aids on Patient Satisfaction, Clinician Communication, and Quality of Care

Communication is critical within healthcare, and is the root cause of most errors. With increased adoption and use of new information technologies and mediated communication systems, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR), that support visual content, hospitals can begin to look at the potential of photographic aids to improve patient satisfaction, clinician communication, and ultimately quality of care. Having pictures of clinicians and patients may improve communication by improving knowledge of who is part of the care team and may reduce electronic ordering or documentation on the wrong patient.

Despite the importance of communication between clinicians and the many advances within information and communication technologies, there is a lack of literature documenting systems that are effective at improving communication. Our research study will provide an overview on the communication models and technologies used in Canadian hospitals and add insights to the impacts of these technological adoption.

Research Question: How does the use of photographic influence patients' hospital experience?

Specifically, do photographic aids (photographs of clinicians' faces) influence:

1. Patient's ability to identify their clinical care team members 2. Patient's ability to identify their care team members and know their individual roles 3. Patient's satisfaction with their hospital experience

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Key information

Conditions

Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Patient Recall of Their Clinical Care Team Behavior Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Clinician-patient Communication Effects of Photographic Aids (Photos of Faces) on Overall Patient Satisfaction Health Behavior Patient Satisfaction Treatment Adherence and Compliance

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Toronto General Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C4, Canada

About this study

The investigators will conduct interviews of a cross-sectional sample of patients for up to one year. There will be 2 visits during the study. The first visit should last for 15 minutes (to get consent), the second visit should last somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes. The research team created a structured survey tool designed to characterize patients' knowledge of the names and roles of their health care professionals and understanding of their plan of care, which includes some semi-structured questions to assess patient satisfaction with their hospital experience. This survey tool will be administered to participating patients each weekday during the study period, prior to their discharge from the hospital.

At the first visit, depending on whether the participant was previously assigned to group A, B or C, participants will be provided with a piece of paper listing the names of the members of their clinical care team (group B), or a piece of paper with a list of names and photographs of the members of their clinical care team (group C), or no paper at all (group A) which is currently the typical communication experience at the hospital.

There is no compensation for participation in the study.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Must be admitted as an in-patient in the GIM ward at Toronto General Hospital.
  • The ability of the patient to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients with significant confusion, delirium or dementia will be screen by asking orientation to place and time.

Treatment and study plan

Provision of Clinical Care Handout

Other

Patients assigned to groups B or C will be provided with a paper or electronic version displaying either a list of the names and roles of their clinical care staff (group B), or a list of names and roles accompanied by the respective photograph of each clinician (group C). This document will be presented to the patient at the earliest possible time after admission to the hospital.

Primary outcomes

  1. Patient's memory recall of their clinical care team

    Time frame: up to 1 year

    Measure if there are changes in the amount of clinicians patients recognize. Measure if they are changes in the amount of clinicians' names patients can remember.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Patients' satisfaction with clinician communication

    Time frame: up to one year

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Health Network, Toronto

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Put a Face to a Name (Part A): The Effects of Photographic Aids on Patient Satisfaction,Clinician Communication, and Quality of Care

Acronym: Face2Name

Important dates

Study start
2012
Primary completion
2013
Study completion
2013
First posted
Aug 7, 2012
Registry last updated
Apr 7, 2014

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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