Utilização de feedback de pacientes para direcionar a melhoria da qualidade em hospitais.

Abstract

The definition of quality has become broader since the 1980´s. Previously, the quality was restricted to manufactured products, and started to encompass all the processes related to products and services offerings, and to be evaluated according to the adequacy of consumer needs. In healthcare, patient involvement gained relevance, as the paternalist model was gradually replaced, and patients started to get involved in many forms. The scope of this work is quality improvement through patient feedback, which can be defined as a method to record the patients' perspective about the quality of healthcare, aiming to learn, to improve processes and patient experience. Aligned with the gaps observed in the literature, this work aims to explore how hospitals use patient feedback to drive quality improvement. For that, a qualitative exploratory study was undertaken, in the multiple case modality, in four accredited and private hospitals in São Paulo city. The collection of evidences consisted in interviews with hospital managers, documentary and secondary data analysis. The lessons learned were presented in proposals of framework, charts with evidences of patient feedback utilization by category and check list for analyzing the patient feedback process. The results were in accordance with the proposed objectives, and this work highlights the possible contributions of production engineering to healthcare.