“Talking Control” as a Method to Improve Patient Satisfaction with Staff Communication in the Dialysis Setting

Abstract

Heartland Kidney Network developed the Take 5 to Tune In project utilizing the technique of “talking control” to improve communication between staff and patients in the dialysis facility. Face-to-face talking control encounters with a five-minute minimum were conducted with patients from June 1, 2014, through September 30, 2014. Five questions from the In-Center Hemodialysis Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (ICH CAHPS) experience of care survey were used to evaluate the success of the project. Overall, there was an increase of 5 percentage points in the combined rate of positive responses to the five ICH CAHPS questions. Talking control is an effective and simple means to improve dialysis provider communication and patients’ satisfaction with their care.