O3291: QR Codes: A Method of Capturing Quality Improvement Data for Critical Care Transport

Purpose/Objectives: Web-based satisfaction surveys are a widely utilized method of obtaining feedback for quality improvement in medical transport. Our previous tool for collecting feedback was not widely utilized, with poor response rates, so we sought a different process. A convenient method of survey distribution via a printed QR code was developed with the intent of capturing feedback at the point of patient transfer. It was suspected that the personalization of the physical hand-off of a QR code and embedding the survey at the point of contact would elicit improved engagement and response rates amongst referring providers when compared to an alternative method of survey distribution.

Design/Methods: In May 2022, an initiative was implemented by the transport team's Quality Assurance & Improvement Committee to gather information from referring facilities regarding the patient transfer experience for internal quality improvement as well as tracking important aspects of care and quality metrics per established standards. Initially, contact was made with a third-party vendor to utilize a web-based satisfaction survey tool. The annual cost of this tool was quoted at $1,400. In exploring other survey host options, the QR code generator feature within the Microsoft Forms platform was identified and determined to be a potentially cost-effective and logistically manageable alternative. Managing the survey and printing the QR codes onto cards in-house allowed the team the ability to continuously edit the survey content and access reporting 24/7. A stack of cards (Figure 1) was placed in a compartment behind the head of each stretcher in each ambulance. At the point of transfer of care at referring facilities, the transport team was directed to hand the referring provider a card and ask that they access the QR code using their preferred device to provide feedback on the transfer process. Through this survey (Figure 2), providers could also request follow-up on their patient's status once the transfer had been completed using a HIPAA-compliant procedure.

Results: Utilizing Microsoft Forms as a host platform and printing QR code cards in-house has been an effective way of tracking and sharing feedback using graphical reporting in the form of color-coded charts, rating systems, and open-text comments. Since implementation, this initiative has cost a total of $48.10. Distribution compliance within the transport team was identified as a key area of improvement needed to capitalize on increasing survey response rates. Another area to improve response rates is the distribution of the QR code to multiple individuals at the referring hospital including both RNs and MDs.

Conclusion/Discussion: The QR code-based survey tool has proved to be an effective method of tracking and sharing performance data. We hope that acquiring feedback via this method will become an integral step in the patient transfer process for our referring providers going forward.