Physicians and administrators in hospitals continue to suffer from a disconnect, according to a new Press Ganey report. Physicians say they need administrators to be more responsive to ideas and needs of the medical staff.

The report, the 2008 Hospital Check-Up Report: Physician Perspectives on American Hospitals surveyed 27,671 physicians from more than 300 hospitals and found that surgeons and critical care specialists are the least satisfied medical staff members in hospitals, while pathologists and rehabilitation specialist are the most satisfied.

Physicians also reported low satisfaction with access to patient information and staff reports on patient conditions.

Children under the age of four were hospitalized with skin infections more than 34,000 times in 2006, reports the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The incidence of skin infections for the young patient population has risen 150% since 2000, and is currently the eighth most common reason for child hospitalizations (up from the 17th most common in 2000.) AHRQ reports the reasons for the rise are unclear but may be partly linked to an increase in resistance to antibiotics.

Six months after the telemetry unit at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, KY, implemented hourly nurse rounding, the number of patient falls decreased, patient satisfaction increased, and call light use dropped by more than 3,000 per month.

“The managers round on all of the patients every day,” says Amy Robinson, RN, a nurse manager at the 200-bed facility. “One of the questions we ask the patient is, ‘Does someone always come in as soon as you use your call light?’ And we often hear, ‘Oh, I never use my call light because they’re in here all the time.’ ”

The hospital began hourly rounding on Robinson’s 25-bed telemetry unit in March 2007 to reduce patient falls. In February 2007, the unit had five falls. That number dropped to one in April, although it took six months before the program was really hardwired. The director of patient care excellence, Lisa Benner, organized the project.

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