Quest Diagnostics Approach to Patient- and Consumer-Centered Care
Originally published in Quest Diagnostics Corporate Responsibility Report 2022
We aim to deliver empathetic, high-quality, and convenient individualized care.
Strengthening our approach to patient-centered care
Development programs to build employee skillsets
Throughout 2022, we deployed new staff training and development programs that are customer-centric and emphasize thoughtful and patient-focused care delivery.
- Added content and training through our Everyday Excellence and Everyday Equity programs to educate frontline workers in empathetic care delivery
- Worked with The Arnold P. Gold Foundation to train frontline employees in humanistic patient engagement. This included suggestions on how to build trust in relationships through active listening during patient interactions
- Regularly asked patients in PSC exit surveys to assess the care and compassion of our staff and used that feedback as part of performance evaluations
- Adopted Franklin Covey’s Speed of Trust® Program. Five hundred employees, including frontline supervisors, were trained on inclusive leadership with a focus on building trust with frontline employees and patients
Enhancing the patient experience using technology
Patients expect efficient and accessible digital services from healthcare providers throughout their patient journey. This includes purchasing or scheduling tests, receiving test results, and learning about possible next steps.
We are committed to leveraging technology that is user-friendly. At the same time, we recognize that some patients may still encounter challenges. To ensure all patients have the support they need when they need it, we provide a range of communication options (telephone, social media, our website, instant messaging, and email).
Our PSCs have check-in kiosks that are wheelchair accessible, provide help in 30 languages, and feature audio guidance for visually impaired patients. In 2022, we added LanguageLine to our PSCs and customer service lines. This audio and video translation service enables our staff to better communicate with patients.
Identifying new approaches to care delivery
We strive to deliver a high level of holistic care to all our patients. This requires exploring and understanding the needs of different population groups throughout the patient or consumer experience. In 2022, we began to adopt reference ranges in the development of some of our tests to reflect differential health outcomes across ethnicities.
