This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2015/nov/18/nhs-great-communication-healthcare-save-lives-behavioural-insight-nudge
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Great communication in healthcare can save lives | Great communication in healthcare can save lives |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| We are only just beginning to learn about the power of words in health. Not the great works of literature, whose influence goes without saying, but the power of the ordinary messages that patients and the public see every day. It turns out it matters exactly how they are framed and what they say. If we get it right, we can improve treatment, reduce errors, cut costs and even save lives. | We are only just beginning to learn about the power of words in health. Not the great works of literature, whose influence goes without saying, but the power of the ordinary messages that patients and the public see every day. It turns out it matters exactly how they are framed and what they say. If we get it right, we can improve treatment, reduce errors, cut costs and even save lives. |
| Take the text message that is routinely sent by NHS hospitals to outpatients reminding them of their upcoming appointment. A small tweak to the wording – to include the £160 cost of the appointment – reduced the non-attenders by almost 25% in a trial at Barts NHS trust in London. If repeated across the NHS, that could save at least £1m a week , and would mean more patients get the required treatment when they need it. | Take the text message that is routinely sent by NHS hospitals to outpatients reminding them of their upcoming appointment. A small tweak to the wording – to include the £160 cost of the appointment – reduced the non-attenders by almost 25% in a trial at Barts NHS trust in London. If repeated across the NHS, that could save at least £1m a week , and would mean more patients get the required treatment when they need it. |
| Related: Dragons' Den-style event reveals new treatments and technology for NHS | |
| No extra effort is required or cost involved. The texts have been part of patient communication already – it is a simple matter of re-wording them to be more effective. The findings were published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) in September and the new message is now being used by a second London trust as well as Barts. Others are considering adopting it. | No extra effort is required or cost involved. The texts have been part of patient communication already – it is a simple matter of re-wording them to be more effective. The findings were published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) in September and the new message is now being used by a second London trust as well as Barts. Others are considering adopting it. |
| It is the latest product of the nudge unit, established by the coalition government in 2010 and spun out of Whitehall last year, working together with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, which I lead. There are certain psychological factors – the desire to fit in or avoid losses, to be consistent with our promises – that can be used to help implement public policy. The theory was expounded in the seminal 2008 book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, that introduced governments to the use of behavioural science in policy making. | It is the latest product of the nudge unit, established by the coalition government in 2010 and spun out of Whitehall last year, working together with the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, which I lead. There are certain psychological factors – the desire to fit in or avoid losses, to be consistent with our promises – that can be used to help implement public policy. The theory was expounded in the seminal 2008 book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, that introduced governments to the use of behavioural science in policy making. |
| Today the nudge unit – whose official title is the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) – is credited with saving millions of pounds in taxes, increasing the diversity of the police force and doubling the sign-up rate to the army reserves. Its latest accolade came in September when President Obama signed an order directing the insights gained from behavioural science be used to improve the US government’s programmes. | Today the nudge unit – whose official title is the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) – is credited with saving millions of pounds in taxes, increasing the diversity of the police force and doubling the sign-up rate to the army reserves. Its latest accolade came in September when President Obama signed an order directing the insights gained from behavioural science be used to improve the US government’s programmes. |
| These insights have revealed not only which words can best be used to change behaviour but also how other cues – visual, olfactory – may be equally important. Retailers have known for decades that infusing supermarkets with the smell of fresh bread and placing chocolates close to the checkout increases sales, and airlines have tweaked their websites to encourage purchase of business class seats. The use of bigger plates and shorter, wider glasses in restaurants means that customers eat and drink more, according to a recent review. | These insights have revealed not only which words can best be used to change behaviour but also how other cues – visual, olfactory – may be equally important. Retailers have known for decades that infusing supermarkets with the smell of fresh bread and placing chocolates close to the checkout increases sales, and airlines have tweaked their websites to encourage purchase of business class seats. The use of bigger plates and shorter, wider glasses in restaurants means that customers eat and drink more, according to a recent review. |
| Increasingly similar measures are being tried in healthcare. | Increasingly similar measures are being tried in healthcare. |
| The Barts outpatient appointments study, led by Michael Hallsworth, director of health and tax at BIT and PhD researcher here at Imperial College, is one example. In another study, published in Health Psychology in July, researchers led by Dominic King, a surgeon and behavioural scientist at Imperial College, found that pumping the clean smell of soap outside a hospital intensive care unit increased hand washing by medical staff. If that translates into reduced hospital infections, as it should, lives will be saved. | The Barts outpatient appointments study, led by Michael Hallsworth, director of health and tax at BIT and PhD researcher here at Imperial College, is one example. In another study, published in Health Psychology in July, researchers led by Dominic King, a surgeon and behavioural scientist at Imperial College, found that pumping the clean smell of soap outside a hospital intensive care unit increased hand washing by medical staff. If that translates into reduced hospital infections, as it should, lives will be saved. |
| A similar reduction in risk has come from a redesigned hospital prescription chart. More than one in 15 hospital prescriptions contains some kind of error, usually because the writing is illegible or some information is missing. It is the most frequent cause of avoidable harm to patients in hospital. | A similar reduction in risk has come from a redesigned hospital prescription chart. More than one in 15 hospital prescriptions contains some kind of error, usually because the writing is illegible or some information is missing. It is the most frequent cause of avoidable harm to patients in hospital. |
| The new chart, developed with designers, behavioural scientists and academics from Imperial College, requires medical staff to circle pre-printed prescription quantities, use colour coding for the length of treatment and print their names in block capitals. A trial at St Mary’s hospital, London, also led by Dominic King and published in BMJ Open last year, found it reduced errors. | The new chart, developed with designers, behavioural scientists and academics from Imperial College, requires medical staff to circle pre-printed prescription quantities, use colour coding for the length of treatment and print their names in block capitals. A trial at St Mary’s hospital, London, also led by Dominic King and published in BMJ Open last year, found it reduced errors. |
| Related: Doctor will see you – and you too – now | |
| We have come a long way from the flies in the men’s urinals at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam – the widely quoted example of nudge theory, cited in Thaler and Sunstein’s book. The flies, etched onto the urinals, provided men with something to aim at, reducing spillage by a reported 80% according to trials by the airport cleaning department. | We have come a long way from the flies in the men’s urinals at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam – the widely quoted example of nudge theory, cited in Thaler and Sunstein’s book. The flies, etched onto the urinals, provided men with something to aim at, reducing spillage by a reported 80% according to trials by the airport cleaning department. |
| At the time people rolled their eyes, laughed, and moved on. But the flies stuck. Today they can be found on urinals from football stadiums to motorway service stations. Similarly, the nudge unit established in the cabinet office in 2010 was initially greeted with scepticism. But as it began applying the new psychology to a range of problems from non-payment of tax to boosting pension enrolment it gradually won acceptance. | At the time people rolled their eyes, laughed, and moved on. But the flies stuck. Today they can be found on urinals from football stadiums to motorway service stations. Similarly, the nudge unit established in the cabinet office in 2010 was initially greeted with scepticism. But as it began applying the new psychology to a range of problems from non-payment of tax to boosting pension enrolment it gradually won acceptance. |
| One of its most striking successes has been in boosting organ donation by changing the message used to encourage people to sign up to the donor register. After testing a number of phrases, the results showed that appealing to the good Samaritan in people was the most effective: “If you needed an organ transplant would you have one? If so, please help others.” After the message was adopted, an extra 100,000 donors were added to the register in 12 months. | One of its most striking successes has been in boosting organ donation by changing the message used to encourage people to sign up to the donor register. After testing a number of phrases, the results showed that appealing to the good Samaritan in people was the most effective: “If you needed an organ transplant would you have one? If so, please help others.” After the message was adopted, an extra 100,000 donors were added to the register in 12 months. |
| It is a fine demonstration of the power of the nudge. Those 15 carefully chosen words have turned out to be life saving. | It is a fine demonstration of the power of the nudge. Those 15 carefully chosen words have turned out to be life saving. |
| Join our network to read more pieces like this. And follow us on Twitter (@GdnHealthcare) to keep up with the latest healthcare news and views. | Join our network to read more pieces like this. And follow us on Twitter (@GdnHealthcare) to keep up with the latest healthcare news and views. |