Put a Face to a Name (Part A): The Effects of Photographic Aids on Patient Satisfaction, Clinician Communication, and Quality of Care

Communication is critical within healthcare, and is the root cause of most errors. With increased adoption and use of new information technologies and mediated communication systems, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR), that support visual content, hospitals can begin to look at the potential of photographic aids to improve patient satisfaction, clinician communication, and ultimately quality of care. Having pictures of clinicians and patients may improve communication by improving knowledge of who is part of the care team and may reduce electronic ordering or documentation on the wrong patient. Despite the importance of communication between clinicians and the many advances within information and communication technologies, there is a lack of literature documenting systems that are effective at improving communication. Our research study will provide an overview on the communication models and technologies used in Canadian hospitals and add insights to the impacts of these technological adoption. Research Question: How does the use of photographic influence patients\' hospital experience? Specifically, do photographic aids (photographs of clinicians\' faces) influence: 1. Patient\'s ability to identify their clinical care team members 2. Patient\'s ability to identify their care team members and know their individual roles 3. Patient\'s satisfaction with their hospital experience