In October 2008, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) completed a 90-Day R&D Project to build on extensive work in the area of patient- and family-centered care. The focus of this project was to identify key drivers that have a positive affect on improving the inpatient care experience.

The 90-day project and the current driver diagram focused on the following customer perspectives:

• Individuals in formal leadership positions in hospitals and in various support services, especially those organizations whose patient experience or HCAHPS results are mission critical
• Patient and family advisors who partner with hospital leadership on an administrative level to improve patient experience results

The drivers were identified through a review of the relevant literature and through interviews with experts in achieving excellent service experience, experts in the field of patient experience, as well as patient and family advisors who partner with health care leaders in this work.

The materials posted here result from the work of the 90-day project:

1. IHI 90-Day R&D Project Summary Report: Improving the Experience of Inpatient Care
2. Driver Diagram for Improving the Inpatient Care Experience
3. Spreadsheet of Evidence from the Literature to Support the Drivers of the Inpatient Care Experience [see first tab in spreadsheet for explanation] 
4. Selected Evidence to Support Primary Drivers of Improved Inpatient Experience of Care
5. Selected Core Readings: Improving the Patient Experience of Inpatient Care