AUTHOR=Ventura-Aguiar Pedro , Bayés-Genís Beatriu , Amor Antonio J. , Cuatrecasas Miriam , Diekmann Fritz , Esmatjes Enric , Ferrer-Fàbrega Joana , García-Criado Ángeles , Musquera Mireia , Olivella Silvia , Palou Eva , Paredes David , Perea Sonia , Perez Anna , Poch Esteban , Romano Barbara , Escarrabill Joan TITLE=Patient Experience in Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation—A Methodological Approach Towards Innovation in an Established Program JOURNAL=Transplant International VOLUME=35 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/journals/transplant-international/articles/10.3389/ti.2022.10223 DOI=10.3389/ti.2022.10223 ISSN=1432-2277 ABSTRACT=

Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPKT) leads to increased survival and quality of life, and is an alternative treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and end-stage kidney disease. Due to the particularities of this population (often with multiple comorbidities) and of the surgery (only performed in a few centers), a comprehensive analysis of patients’ experience along the SPKT process is crucial to improve patient care and add value to this procedure. Therefore, we applied a systematic and iterative methodology with the participation of both patients and professional teams working together to explore and identify unmet needs and value-adding steps along the transplant patient journey at an established pancreas transplant program. Four main steps (to comprehend, to explore, to experiment and to assess) led to several interventions around three major areas: Administration and logistics, information and communication, and perceived quality of assistance. As a result, both displacements to the hospital for diagnostic purposes and the time delay involved in joining the patient waiting list for transplantation were reduced in parallel to the administrative procedures. In conclusion, the methodological implementation of key organizational changes has great impact on overall patient experience. Further quantitative analysis from the patient’s perspective will consolidate our program and may add new prototype service design components.