Outcome: By completing Step 2.4, you will have decided whether and why you would like to adapt some aspect of AHPEQS, and you will understand the implications of doing this. 

Outcome: By completing Step 2.3, you will have a plan for how often you will administer surveys to your sample or population of patients, and when you will administer the survey in relation to each person’s discharge. These timing decisions will need to support your objectives for using AHPEQS. For example, if you plan to report to your board or other regular meetings, your reporting cycle will affect your surveying and analysis cycle.

Outcome:  By completing Step 2.2, you will have a ‘sampling frame’ for your full implementation. This is separate to any sampling frame for pilots. It is the population of patients you would like to include in your regular surveys when you have fully implemented AHPEQS. This means deciding what types of patients will be eligible for the survey, what proportion of these patients you will invite to answer the survey, and the minimum number of completed responses you will require before you can draw valid conclusions from (or report) the data.

Outcome: By completing Step 2.1, you will have an overview of how you will establish routine use of AHPEQS in a way that suits the circumstances and resources of the organisation. A rollout strategy should outline the intended phases of implementation and a rationale for this. It needs to consider the need for cultural, technological, process and reporting changes to ensure the successful administration and use of the AHPEQS survey and results.

PREMs are recommended as a resource to prioritise and inform local safety and quality improvement, to stimulate meaningful discussion with consumers, and to help organisations to keep track of their move towards patient-centred care.

Now that you have considered how the selected PREM fits into the big picture of your organisation, it is time to think about how to translate the aspirations of this big picture into practical actions on the ground. Stage 2 takes you through some of the important decisions needed to get the PREM to your patients and to get responses back.

To ensure that the selected PREM can be a meaningful tool for quality and safety improvement and person-centred care, you need to first think carefully about how you want to use the survey and why. You also need to consider how the PREM can be best used in your organisation, given your existing patient experience work and contextual constraints and enablers.