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CMS releases patient satisfaction ratings

Quality Improvement Monitor, April 4, 2008

The release of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores last week may have caused angst among some hospitals, but experts say the heightened focus on patient satisfaction will ultimately improve patient safety, advance patient-centered care, and even lead to better clinical outcomes.

"They're very much aligned," says James Conway, MS, senior vice president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. "I don't think you're going to see an organization that is delivering an exceptional patient experience and providing clinically poor care. And you're not going to find an organization that has very aggravated staffs delivering an exceptional patient experience."

Deirdre Mylod, PhD, vice president of public policy for Press Ganey Associates, Inc., and an expert on HCAHPS, agrees. Press Ganey, she says, has found a significant correlation between how well staff rate their hospital as a place to work and how well patients rate their hospital as a good place to receive care.

Mylod recommends the following three things hospitals can do to improve their scores:

  • Go back and look at the hospital's behavioral standards to make sure staff is following the facility's credo.
  • Share patient remarks with staff. "Using the patient comments is incredibly powerful, because what you need to do is drive the behavior change at the frontline," Mylod says. "Show them, 'Here is a place where we fell down. This is a real live patient who is saying this.' Almost more important is using the positive comments to go back to those staff and say thank you and post it in their unit."
  • Institute hourly rounding. Having someone, whether it be an RN, LPN, or support staff, check in every hour instills trust in patients that they won't be left alone. It also reduces workload because if patients know someone is going to be back every hour, they may hold off hitting the call button. (For more on HCAHPS, read the May Quality Improvement Report).

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