Page 13 - SilverLinings Issue 5

Survey results are matched against standards derived from tens of thousands of previous surveys. This gives clinicians a way of comparing symptoms against a large group of people, or
a norm.
“These measures capture a patient’s subjective experience, which is usually the very thing
we are treating,” Dr. Gerber says. “Self-report measures are sometimes regarded as less important, but I would argue that in psychiatry, the very subject matter, the very illness we are treating, is rooted in self-report. Therefore, the data are just as valuable as if they were a blood test or MRI.”
“The numbers are one piece of a larger clinical conversation and evaluation,” Dr. Gerber added. “The same is true in any branch of medicine; you would never only treat numbers, but they can be a very valuable component.”
Silver Hill Hospital has been collecting these measures with all patients since last fall and
is piloting individual patient feedback in the residential unit Steward House and in the Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP). Director of Steward House Petra Pilgrim, MD, said the survey results have been valuable in leading discussions and clarifying goals with residents.
“Patients feel like they are part of the treatment because they are,” Dr. Pilgrim says. “It’s not just someone doing something to them. It empowers the patients, and they feel like they are being cared for and that the treatment is not just random.”
Now that measurement-based feedback has proven to be successful at Steward House
and IOP, Silver Hill plans to add measurement feedback throughout the hospital by the end of the year. Chief Clinical Officer Michael Groat, PhD, said clinicians will be trained in how to interpret the data and how to use data to engage in conversation with patients.
“Skillful use of these measures allows for different kinds of conversations and different forms of engagement, all of which improve outcomes. People can now think about their experience in a broader context and compare them with norms,” Dr. Groat says. “What
that can do for a patient is convey that their experience is real. It’s not just something in their head or something they can snap out of. It’s confirming. It begins to mean something for people. With measurement-based care, patients feel heard and seen. They know you understand the nature of their difficulties.”
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SILVER LININGS MAGAZINE | ISSUE FIVE | 2022