Message from the Dean
Our Commitment to Quality Care
A robust clinical enterprise is at the heart of our goal to become
one of the top ten public medical schools. Success therein is defined
not by numbers of patients but by quality of care, its comprehensiveness
and our ability to implement cutting-edge therapies. Our commitment
to quality of care means we must measure those attributes and use
the resulting data to drive continual improvement.
We measure the quality of our care in a number of ways including
morbidity and mortality rates, expediency and appropriateness of
care, and patient satisfaction. One recent survey revealed that
we meet these indicators very well. Some of our clinical venues,
including the Adult Hematology/Oncology Clinic, the Medical Diagnostic
Clinic, and the Riley Northside Clinic, attained patient satisfaction
scores of 97.8 percent. These were benchmark values for the more
than 100 practices across the country that participated in this
survey.
This year, eight of the clinical programs in Clarian Health (one
of our hospital partners) ranked among the nation's top fifty in
the U.S. News and World Report's issue on "best hospitals".
These included gastroenterology, cancer, ENT, gynecology, kidney
disease, neurology and neurosurgery, urology and orthopaedic surgery.
These areas represent a combination of our activities and those
of our Methodist-based colleagues.
Specific to our own faculty, a recent study focused on responsiveness
and quality of care and emphasized timely and accurate communication
with referring physicians. Overall, the results were quite positive.
While we are doing well by a variety of measures, there is always
room for improvement. Most importantly, by measuring indices of
quality of care, our efforts become data driven and focused.
Recently, I experienced our clinical enterprise first hand as a
patient. From the vantage point of my bed, I witnessed top-notch
services, superb nursing care, and professional, humanistic treatment
to our patients. I cannot express how important it was to know that
I was in good hands at all times and that I benefited from some
of the best medical services and patient care in the country.
We will continually strive to provide such high quality care in
all of our clinical venues. The talent and commitment of our faculty
makes this goal possible.
D. Craig Brater, MD
Dean and Walter J. Daly Professor
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