A Brief Patient-Recorded Audio File Called TIMS (This Is My Story) Improves Communication and Empathy for Healthcare Teams in the Hospital

Abstract

Our objective was to assess the impact of a 4-question patient audio interview (this is my story [TIMS]) on medical staff empathy and communication with hospitalized patients and loved ones. We recorded a 4-question audio interview with patients and posted it to the electronic health record. We used a cross-sectional, mixed methods design to pilot this patient version of the TIMS intervention. To evaluate the intervention we collected a brief evaluation survey and conducted semistructured interviews with medical staff. Fifty-three participants responded to our TIMS evaluation survey. Fifty of 51 respondents reported the TIMS file contained useful information. Twenty-four respondents reported listening to the file decreased their distress. Most responded that they either did not have distress or the TIMS file did not change their distress. Of concern, 3 people reported that listening to the file increased their distress. Importantly, most respondents reported feeling greater empathy for the patient after listening (53%) and most reported listening improved their communication with family members (63%, n = 9/13). Qualitative analysis revealed most participants had positive impressions about TIMS. We conclude that empathy and communication were both improved with use of the 4-question TIMS recording.