The Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) has opened the call for submissions for the 2024 Patient Experience Awards, which recognize initiatives in Alberta that improve the patient experience in accessing or receiving healthcare services.
The awards were established in 2015 by the HQCA and its Patient and Family Advisory Committee to recognize and spread knowledge about initiatives that improve patient experience in Alberta. Up to four initiatives are recognized annually with certificates, a plaque, a video about their program, and a $2,000 education grant.
Applications from healthcare teams—which may include pharmacists and/or pharmacy technicians—are being accepted online until November 17, 2023. Applications must include a 500-word project summary and two statements of support from patients or families served by the program. More information about the criteria is available at hqca.ca/awards.
A successful applicant
- has some evidence from the patient perspective that something needed to be improved,
- engages patients and/or their family members in the process to improve (including the evaluation),
- acts on patient and/or family feedback, and
- can show how their patients’ and their families’ experiences have been positively impacted by this approach or initiative.
All applicants will learn the status of their submission in December. Those shortlisted to advance to the second part of evaluation will have until February 29, 2024, to complete Part B of their submission, and the final results will be announced next spring. Part B entails a 2,000-word project description.
Pharmacists have been part of previous award-winning healthcare teams, including Brian Dorish, who was part of the Edmonton Prostate Interdisciplinary Cancer Clinic’s winning submission in 2019. In 2020, Alberta’s Virtual Opioid Dependency Program, which depended on the work of 400 community pharmacies across the province, was recognized.
