The Project

iWGC partnered with a global provider of haemodialysis collecting, moderating and analysing over 151,000 patient insights from over 200 clinics in 19 countries over the course of the four-year project. iWGC developed new question sets for its client enabling quantitative and qualitative analysis of experience and outcomes for patients on dialysis. Over 200,000 patient surveys were delivered, with iWGC’s multi-method collection strategy enabling clinics to reach an average response rate of 72%. Two thirds of the 151,000 responses were received on paper forms, and one third online or via the app. Surveys were delivered at set points throughout the year, in line with client specifications.

The Results

Results from the iWGC analysis showed large variations in patient experience between clinics in different countries. Quality of patient experience significantly correlated with engagement from region leads and stability in the management of head offices globally. Results highlighted the direct impact that non clinical and management changes in the organisation had on patient care. The clinics with the highest scores to begin with improved the least, suggesting a need for more incentives to maintain standards of excellence. The clinics with the highest ratings also had the highest response rates, suggesting that the more engaged a clinic was with the exercise of gathering feedback, the more interested they were in delivering better, patient-centred care. Free-text comments were qualitatively analysed by iWGC’s sentiment analysis tools using an integrated human/AI approach. The qualitative analysis revealed both local and global themes and insights for tangible improvements to service delivery. Analyses identified to head office, for example, that patient transport in one region could leave patients waiting outside for up to two hours before the clinic opened. This identified the need for new waiting facilities as well as a reorganisation of patient transport, requiring central budget discussions. Resulting local changes aimed to increase adherence to dialysis treatment schedules for those in early stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to increase patient satisfaction with the service.

• 20% of negative comments related to waiting
• 35% of negative comments related to infrastructure and services
• Two thirds of positive comments emphasised the kindness of staff and the imaginative measures taken to entertain patients undergoing regular treatments.