Impact of Multimedia-based Patient Education on Patient Satisfaction Scores in an Otolaryngology Practice Setting

Patient satisfaction is an important metric currently used to rate quality of healthcare in hospitals. Maximizing patient satisfaction scores is therefore significantly beneficial to any hospital establishment. Recent studies have shown patient satisfaction depends on multiple factors, including patient involvement in treatment decision-making processes and patients' knowledge of treatment options. Internal review of departmental patient satisfaction survey scores revealed deficits in the aforementioned areas of patient satisfaction, with the domains of "how well concerns were addressed", "explanation of tests and procedures" and "effort to include patients in decisions" having the lowest scores on patient satisfaction surveys. This highlights the gap in patient satisfaction that the Otolaryngology department seeks to improve on, so as to maximize patient satisfaction, and in turn, the quality of healthcare provided.

The aim of this study is to assess the improvement in patient satisfaction scores that can be obtained by incorporating LUMA ENT™, a disease-specific multimedia patient education software, into the treatment decisions for thyroid disorders. LUMA ENT™ is a leading patient education software that provides visual anatomic animations of disease processes, disease progression and treatment options to improve patients' knowledge. Thyroid disorders have been chosen for study due to their high frequency of occurrence in the patient population and generalizability to a wide medical audience.

The investigators will perform a single-blinded randomized-controlled study of patients visiting the physician practices of the Department of Otolaryngology for management of thyroid disorders. Participants will be randomized into control and intervention groups. Upon completion of the routine physician-patient clinical encounter, the intervention group will view a 5- minute LUMA ENT™ video discussing their specific thyroid condition, its natural progression history, and treatment options. They will have an opportunity to ask the physician any further questions that arise from viewing the video. The control group will not view the LUMA ENT video. Patient satisfaction surveys will then be provided to both groups at the end of the visit as is routinely done and scores subsequently compared.