Patient Satisfaction Is An Important Element Of The Quality Of Healthcare

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 is undoubtedly on the minds of hospital administrators in an increasingly consumer-driven healthcare system. With patient

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

patient and family satisfaction could go a long way to advance the quality of patient care throughout the hospital.

This paper will describe current quality outcome measures and the significance for improving medical care. Organizational accountability and transparency has improved with the emergence of Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) programs and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPs). This article will review the role of the nurse manager in creating a culture for quality care as well as the nurse for meeting organizational and patient expectations. Organizations like The Joint Commission (JC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and The American Nurses Association (ANA) have been critical in establishing standards for quality. This paper will also report on the most recent hospital statistics and steps taken to improve HCAHP scores and reduce readmission rates at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville (UTMCK). Statistics at UTMCK will also be compared to the Tennessee and National averages found on the Medicare website Hospital Compare. The aim of this paper is to explore if healthcare system initiatives are improving quality and enhancing patient outcomes.

Patient satisfaction: This issue can affect funding, revenue and reimbursement from insurance providers. Patient satisfaction can be affected by nearly any aspect of the hospital experience, surveys are done randomly to gain insight on the patients overall treatment at the facility. Negative feedback can cause assumptions about treatment and quality by the HCO as well as decrease in incoming patients.

The second concept is the patient satisfaction of the services that are provided at different medical facilitates. Some indicators for patient satisfaction are the number of patients that took patient satisfaction surveys and the number of comments from patients that wanted to see changes. More variables of

Health care organizations should work on putting more emphasis on patient experience and satisfaction, such as giving evaluations when giving care. When it comes to patient satisfication the healthcare system should put their sole focus on making sure patient were well taken care of during their visit. Whether if the patient was satisfied or not with their experience. Patient experience/satisfaction in a hospital should always be a number one priority and getting the person back at 100%. Hospitals are always looking for ways to improve several different things such as technology, health in populations, reducing cost, maintaince, etc. But they fail to focus on the quality care, Avoidable harm is a worthy goal that all health care system should benefit

The gaps that show areas of improvement are of the nurse’s perceived service and the patient’s perceived experience based on the patient’s expectations (Dabney and Tzang 2013). A patient’s expectations are modeled by past experiences, culture, personal needs, and word of mouth from other patient experiences. If a provider does not implement a patient-centered approach to patient care the patient’s needs cannot be met due to the gap in patient expectations and perceived service (Dabney and Tzang 2013).

Patients want and expect to receive high quality care. Nurses want to provide the best care possible to their patients and like everybody else; want a pleasing job environment. Hospitals, on the other hand, are expected to provide a safe environment to patients, have enough nursing staff and remain profitable (Keller, Dulle, Kwiecinski, Altimier & Owens, 2013). The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and patient safety across the United States; therefore, all the different interests of these major stakeholders should be taken into

Hospitals and insurance providers alike as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are aiming to measure the value of health care (Morris, Jahangir, & Sethi, 2013). Improving patient satisfaction not only enhances the care a patient receives overall but it can have a major impact on a hospital’s reputation and financial results as well (Hall, 2008).

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).

“Patient outcomes become the ultimate measure of quality as they reflect the influence of both structure and process of care” (Stanik-Hutt et al., 2013, p. 492). The use of patient satisfaction tools is routine in healthcare facilities. What actually do the results of patient satisfaction surveys tell us about the quality of nursing care? The results of patient satisfaction are used to better understand what can be done in the future to improve the patient care outcome, ultimately achieving the most desireable outcome. It is essential to know exactly how APRNs contribute to the quality, safety, and effectiveness of healthcare so that they may be utilized to the best of their abilities to provide evidence based

This will help with revenue and keeping their business growing. Customer service is kind of different in healthcare. Even though healthcare professionals do their jobs and take care of their patient’s needs, customer satisfaction has never really been a must. It is usually understood, do the minimum and get them in and out of the office and on to the next patient. We all know that when patients get sick they usually do not want to go to the doctor but they know it is a necessity. Since it is not an option, but a necessity; patients sometimes feel they do not deserve superior treatment. Now that there’s a patient satisfaction survey this will change the way customer service works due to the patient 's rating their experience. Therefore, the hospitals have to step up their game and set different rules. There needs to be many changes made from communication between staff, the quality of care, and the patient 's visit with the healthcare provider in order to increase their ratings.

-Examine at least three (3) examples of quality initiatives that could increase patient satisfaction and potentially reduce healthcare cost. Support your response with examples of the successful application your chosen quality initiatives.