Secret Shopper Observation

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

1. Discuss whether the structure of the executive compensation program is consistent with the corporate strategy for each company. At a minimum, consider the mix of compensation (i.e., fixed vs. contingent, short-term vs. long-term, accounting or stock price-based vs. non-financial-based). In your opinion, does the compensation program motivate executives to achieve strategic success?

Shopping, a common activity conducted by almost everyone at least once a month, is such a normal subject in our everyday life, one barely puts any thoughts into the potential semiotic explanations behind it. According to the two essays, “The Signs of Shopping” and “The Science of Shopping,” Shopping has significant impacts on one’s self-identification. It is a two way straight, the consumers’ shopping styles can also influence the economic status of the retails businesses.

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?

A powerful force for change can be created by embracing transparency. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, “transparency is a broad-scale initiative enabling consumers to compare quality and the price of health care services so they can make their own informative choices among doctors and hospitals. This initiative is laying the foundation for pooling and analyzing information about procedures, hospitals and physicians services. In order to create value driven health care, there are four steps to turn raw data into

The truth is that transparency in the delivery of health care means completely different things to different people. Consumers, physicians, and providers all have different views as to what transparency would do to benefit or degrade the health care system. There have been numerous studies completed, and articles written, about how the lack of transparency in health care is negatively impacting the delivery of quality care. Many individuals in the past who work in

Everyday thousands of retail stores throughout the United States open up their stores in the morning for the sole purpose of attracting customers and selling them merchandise. For this assignment I decided to do a store analysis of the retail giant Wal-Mart. To begin with I will evaluate the store layout and design. Next I will explain the visual merchandising techniques used that Wal-Mart uses. Finally I will discuss the problems and recommendations that I have for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has continually been a leader in the retail industry, and it all starts with the layout of the store.

What is the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) and how can they improve the quality of health care that we receive when we go to the hospital? This paper will answer those questions and will also show why they are so vital to the healthcare industry.

The publication of performance knowledge by hospitals and doctors have to be compelled to be boxed at intervals the final word reform package. Performance knowledge provides Americans with valuable data relating to the potential of those facilities and physicians to perform positive procedures. Already, patients ar "shopping" for health care. Shopper p have remarkably influenced midwifery care. several hospitals presently give "homey" organic process rooms, and atiny low

Survey of patient’s experiences is important source of information of the quality of health care provided by the particular hospital, which allows patients to compare the hospitals in the area. The HCAHPS star rating of Gulf Coast Hospital and Bay Medical Center is two stars, while Sacred Heart Hospital is rated with four stars on the excellence of care. The outliner indicators for Gulf Coast Medical Center in the survey of patients’ experiences on the question: “How often did patients receive help quickly from the hospital staff?” shows that 74% patients pick the answer “always communicated well”, that is slightly lower than national average with 79%. The survey question “How often were the patients’ rooms and bathrooms kept clean” only 61% of the patients pick that their bathroom and room were “always clean” that is much lower than the national average 74% and only 47% of the patients understood the care that was provided when they were

What is the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) and how can they improve the quality of health care that we receive when we go to the hospital? This paper will answer those questions and will also show why they are so vital to the healthcare industry.

Is it actually us, as an individual, who chooses our identity? Perhaps marketers have jurisdiction over our character by selling us their creations. Anne Norton describes in her essay, “Signs of Shopping,” that shopping is the true passage way to one 's character. Similarly, in the essay “Commodify Your Dissent,” Thomas Frank discusses how these corporations allow one to flaunt their rebellious personality. Both Norton and Frank believe that one’s individuality is held in the hands of businesses. Each store can attract specific types of people while promoting laziness and rebellion.

In conclusion, this paper explored the strengths and weaknesses of this organization. A weakness is identified and improvement is recommended to create a Patient Advisory Council in the Shared Governance to promote better patient-centered care. In doing so, patients will have sense of empowerment by having their input in the plan of care. To measure the success of the recommended change, the use of HCAHPS and patient metrics are utilized and compared nationally.