Improving patient care through better through better patient feedback

Kat Brandt and Clay Graybeal with one of their research collaborators, Brian DeSantis
Kat Brandt and Clay Graybeal with one of their research collaborators, Brian DeSantis, at the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association conference

Two faculty members from the UNE School of Social Work and College of Osteopathic Medicine are collaborating with a group of researchers from around the country on a project aimed at improving care and patient satisfaction in primary and specialty care settings.

Clay Graybeal, Ph.D., M.S.W., professor of Social Work in the Westbrook College of Health Professions, and Kathryn Brandt, D.O. ’97, M.S., MedL, chair of Primary Care, have been conducting an instrument validation study on two methods of getting feedback from patients about the care they receive from their doctors.

Graybeal and Brandt have been looking at the Wellness Rating Scale and the Provider Alliance Scale, two ultra-brief measures that incorporate real-time patient feedback into the clinical setting. These measures are modeled after the Patient Centered Outcome Measurement System (PCOMS), which is used nationally and internationally in behavioral care settings.

“These tools hold promise for enhancing the patient-provider alliance in primary and specialty care settings, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes,” says Graybeal.

The study, titled, “Health-related quality of life and the physician-patient alliance: a preliminary investigation of ultra-brief, real-time measures for primary care,” has been published in the Quality of Life Research Journal. Brandt and Graybeal presented their findings at the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association’s annual conference in Rochester in October.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.