SBIR Phase II: Software for Developing Consumer-Driven Health Care Solutions

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is that the technology provides health care systems with a very accurate view of what their patients experience during health care encounters - what is going well and importantly, what specific problems are frustrating patients. With this insight, providers are able to quickly and efficiently resolve issues. Patients are increasingly active in deciding where they receive care. As health care spending declines, providers find themselves competing for patients. To attract patients and drive market share, health systems must deliver not just excellent clinical care but also positive patient experiences. Patients that have a negative health care encounter often choose to go elsewhere. When they do, providers lose margin. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the industry need for better insight on how to quickly and efficiently improve patient experiences. Surveys which are the norm in health care fail to deliver service failure details. The company's software goes beyond current text analysis solutions by automating the classification of patient feedback based on the ideas and sentiment expressed by patients. These results are converted into precise analytics and displayed in dashboards so front-line managers can quickly identify problems and make rapid improvements in patient experiences. Previously the company demonstrated the technical feasibility of its software by focusing on a narrow set of providers. This research will refine the software so that it is capable of analyzing patient feedback across a wide range of health care organizations. What operational changes will have the greatest, positive impact on patient loyalty and market share? Results from this project will answer that question for a broad range of health care organizations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.