Effectiveness Of Standard Of Care Protocol On Patient Satisfaction And Perceived Staff Caring

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers (HCAHPS) began in 2006 with a 27 question survey that is distributed to discharged patients. This survey process was originally designed to help patients compare hospitals in their area to be able to make an informed choice for their healthcare needs. In January 2013, five additional questions were added to the survey. Beginning this year, Medicare reimbursement rates to a hospital are tied to the hospital’s patient satisfaction scores. Therefore, hospitals are continually looking for ways to improve

Patient satisfaction surveys will also help potential patients understand the environment they are about to enter. If a staff is rude and curt than the public will have access to this. Essentially, this will encourage health care providers to give optimal quality of service to each and every patient. Of course, it’s important that a patients expectations are not too grand. Nothing in life is perfect and people should understand this. Busy hours and numerous patients can cause fatigue. After all, health care providers are still human. Perhaps if all physicians were machines then we could expect them all to be perfect. Performance of medical procedures will enlighten a patient of how well a hospital is able to provide a service. This in turn will allow consumers to make the best choice when selecting a facility for providing care. Someone needing back surgery should be able to locate and choose a facility right for them. If a facility performs poorly with back surgeries, the public has a right to know so that they can avoid this. People have the right to make the most well informed decision. Facility treatment of patients should definitely be transparent. If a facility is trying to hide something it can’t be good. People have the right to know how well a facility treats their patients. This also encourages a facility to always do their best. Ultimately, everyone wants

Once an area of evidence-based practice has been chosen for investigation, the reviewer must locate current evidence sources and, using a structured approach, assess each for applicability to the issue being investigated. The aim of this paper is to use a Rapid Critical Appraisal Checklist (Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt, 2011) to support these sources of evidence into a review that discusses the importance of daily, high-level, multidisciplinary communication and patient safety. The summaries of these evaluations will be provided as an appraisal of each study.

Healthcare is in a constant state of change with movements that impact rates, access and quality of care. Hospitals have become more competitive due to the rising cost of care delivery and the reduction in reimbursement from payers. This causes difficulty in delivering quality care to all patients, which is being measured by mandated patient perception surveys, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). HCAHPS scores are part of value

With patients today using the threat of reporting low satisfaction rates in the hopes of receiving faster or higher quality care, they seem to have taken the upper hand in some of the decision making of what will take place in the healthcare world (Sullivan). But is it really the survey results that will make the drastic changes that are needed?

staff, the skill level of the nursing staff, and the education/certification of nursing staff” (ANA, 2015). These

Evidence-based practice is an approach used by health care professionals to continually use current best evidence-based research to make ethical and reliable decisions regarding patient care. “Research to promote evidence-based practice is becoming more and more a part of the regular work of health care leaders” (Grand Canyon University, 2015, p. 1). However, it is important to determine the difference between solid research and flawed research that provides unreliable inferences. Evidence-based research includes focusing on a clinical question; and includes the review and incorporation of several studies to strengthen the results of the new study (Grand Canyon University, 2015). Roddy et al. and Ganz et al. articles will be assessed to determine if the recommended changes were backed by solid research that warrants changes in a hospital.

As a way to analyze and measure the progress of those six aims, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, or HCAHPS, was established to “compare ‘apples to apples’… and to support consumer choice” as well as a means to evaluate a multitude of hospitals on a common ground (HCAHPS Hospital Survey). HCAHPS surveys are provided to patients after their patient-care experience. The full print survey can be

Reimbursement under VBP involves both clinical and patient satisfaction targets. In order to measure the patient satisfaction aspect, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey is conducted by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare. This external report contains useful information regarding the patients’ perspectives of hospital care, and can be compared at a local, regional, and national level. Individual health care institutions can then use this data to determine quality areas in need of improvement. Overall, there is an emphasis on the healthcare institution’s ability to deliver “patient centered” care.

As healthcare workers, we are challenged with setting standards of practice, being innovative, forward and critical thinkers. It is imperative that we stay in the frame of mind of how we can improve issues in healthcare. According to HG.org, “standards of practice (standards of care) are guidelines used to determine what a nurse should or should not do. Standards may be defined as ‘a benchmark of achievement which is based on a desired level of excellence”, (HG.org, 2011).

According to Fred Lee (2004) hospitals use clinical results and process improvement as a gauge of quality as this data can be readily measured and objective. Conversely, patients judge the quality of care by individual perception. Therein a gap of what the patient’s perception of quality care and how the healthcare providers perceive quality of care is created. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Gaps Model of Service Quality while comparing the findings of the work done by Fred Lee in the book, If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 91/2 Things You would Do Differently.

Measuring and reporting on patient satisfaction has become an integral part in healthcare and has become an industry of its own. The rising importance of patient satisfaction has not only been a determinant in incentives and reimbursements the hospital will receive (Mehta) and of quality of care for the patients, but it enhances the accountability to provide the quality of hospital care. Hospitals use HCAHPS (the Hospital Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) which is required by CMS to measure patient satisfaction. It is a survey targeted towards patients to receive their feedback and perspectives of hospital care. It is focused to provide valid and up to date information to the public and give hospitals reports on patient expectations to work towards improvement and a greater standard (CMS).

The 2011 Institute of Medicine (IMO) report regarding the Future of Nursing, recognized that the nursing profession has the ability to create change for patient outcomes and for the entire health care system. One of the core competencies of the Future of Nursing IOM report is for professional nurses to utilize evidence-based practice to incorporate clinical evidence at the point of care to improve outcomes for patients (Institute of Medicine, 2011). One way nurses can improve patient care is through the use of check lists or care bundles. Care bundles grouping together of clinically evident care to improve outcomes for patients. Many care bundles are nurse driven and have demonstrated through research, improve outcomes for patients (AACN,

By focusing on overall patient care and satisfaction many areas patients are surveyed on can be improved. Once a performance standard is selected staff must develop a plan for improvement. The first step would be to research as many sources as possible to find the best evidence based practices that would work for the specific facility. This can be divided into two the two categories of direct nursing care and indirect nursing care. Direct nursing care would include implementing hourly rounding, adequate nursing staff and SBAR communication. Indirect nursing care includes availability of technology such as wireless communication, real time locating, wireless monitoring, and electronic medical records. The second step would contain education of the staff on what is to be implemented and why. The why is important for nurses to overcome any barriers that might be encountered. While nursing practice has grown based on evidence Vanhook (2009) explains the greatest barriers to evidence based practice, such as difficulty interpreting findings, limited time, and misunderstanding of research itself, and how to overcome these barriers. With phase one and two completed facilities can move forward with implementation and evaluation.

A healthcare organization’s reputation for its commitment to quality and patient-centered customer service stands as the main criteria for individuals in choosing a healthcare service provider (Stavins,2006). “Therefore, measurement of patient satisfaction and incorporating results to create a culturewhere service is deemed important should be a strategic goal for all healthcare organizations”(Stavins,