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Patient satisfaction surveys lead to better performance

Nurse Leader Weekly, October 23, 2006

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Eight years ago when Massachusetts unveiled how hospitals scored on patient satisfaction surveys to the public and media, the response was nothing less than extraordinary, says Barbra Rabson, executive director for Massachusetts Health Quality Partners.

"We had phenomenal press," she says. "Hospitals were galvanized to improve care based on the feedback [that] patients gave them, and there were tremendous quality improvements across the state." Shortly thereafter, hospitals throughout Massachusetts started programs soliciting patient feedback.

It is yet to be seen whether patient satisfaction surveys will have that sort of effect in all 50 states, but it's almost certain that the public will become privy to such information starting next year.

High scores for communication

One nationally recognized expert on Hospital-Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) says there are even more compelling reasons to improve patient satisfaction.

"Our hospitals that work at this and get better at patient satisfaction see financial gains, lower turnover, employee satisfaction, and physician satisfaction as well," says Deirdre E. Mylod, PhD, vice president for public policy at Press Ganey Associates, Inc., in South Bend, IN.

Hospitals had the chance to participate in HCAHPS trial runs this past spring and summer. Those that didn't participate in the dry runs have one more chance to do so in March 2007. The data will be posted on the Hospital Compare Web site next year.

The data from those test runs show that patients ranked communication with doctors and nurses very high, but gave lower marks to communication about medication.

These findings echo a 2005 Press Ganey study, which found that patients checked off "always" on survey when asked if they received excellent service on

• communication with doctors-78.6%
• communication with nurses-73.3%
• pain control-67.5%
• responsiveness of hospital staff-59.8%
• physical environment-57.5%
• communication about medications-55.3%

A sample HCAHPS survey includes these questions about care from nurses:

• During this hospital stay, how often did nurses treat you with courtesy and respect?
• During this hospital stay, how often did nurses listen carefully to you?
• During this hospital stay, how often did nurses explain things in a way that you could understand?

Editor's note: This excerpt was adapted from Quality Improvement Report, October 2006, HCPro, Inc.

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