Asking patients about their experiences, opinions and needs when planning health services

Issues: Health care planners typically utilize available resources and analysis of existing program data, and gather input from program administrators and providers when considering improvements to existing services or implementation of new programs. Consulting patients/consumers in the planning process requires greater time and effort. However, their experiences and opinions provide crucial and often unique information important for guiding program improvement and designing new services. Description: In this presentation we will describe how information from patient surveys and interviews complemented HIV service planning: 1) Development of telemedicine was initiated with a cost-benefit review in which rural patients were surveyed to learn about their opinions and concerns regarding the option of receiving HIV care via telemedicine; 2) Clinical services for women were designed using interviews regarding the patients' experiences and needs; and 3) A Ryan White Statewide Coordinated Statement of Need process was bolstered by extensive patient input through surveys to assess how well their varied health care needs were being met. We will describe survey and interview design and unique findings from each example. Lessons Learned: Providers and planners may have different perceptions of needs than patients do. Program planning is greatly enhanced by patient input, and programs can learn a lot about offering quality care from the people who receive it. Recommendations: Performance measures are clearly very important guides for achieving quality care and service provision. However, as the ultimate goal is to meet patient needs, it is critical to actively involve them at all steps in the planning process.