All Entries in the "patient satisfaction" Category
Perception versus practice in quality of care
Patients’ perceived quality of care varied greatly from the actual quality of care as defined by adherence to guidelines, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology last month. Researchers surveyed 374 women receiving treatment for early stage breast cancer at New York City hospitals and asked the patients to rate the care they received. Only 55% of women indicated that they received excellent care, despite the fact that 88% of the women received care that is considered in line with the best treatment guidelines. The findings of the study could have huge implications for hospitals and other healthcare organizations, particularly as insurers use performance and quality metrics to determine reimbursement.
Several factors influenced the women’s perception of care and patient satisfaction. The ease or difficulty of obtaining initial treatment correlated to the rating of quality: 60% of women who said they received excellent care also said the process of getting care was excellent, but only 16% of women who rated care as less-than-excellent said that the process of receiving care was excellent. Race also contributed to perceptions of quality. The survey found that African-American women were less likely to report excellent care and less likely to trust their doctor than Caucasian or Hispanic women, and were more likely to say they experienced racism during the treatment process, despite the fact that there was no difference in the actual quality of medical care the women received.
Communication and interactions with medical personnel also made a difference in the perception of quality. Women who reported having good communication with their physician, a clear understanding of which staff member to turn to with questions, and generally excellent treatment from the medical staff were more likely to rate their overall quality of care as excellent. The same group of women also felt less mistrust of the medical system.
Although this study examined only a small sample of patients, its findings can be applicable at most institutions. The researchers on the study conclude that healthcare organizations should improve the perceived quality of care by making it easier for patients to obtain care and by establishing trust between patients and healthcare staff. In both instances, clear and detailed communication could aid in improving patient perceptions.
Has your organization noticed a difference in the actual quality of care patients receive and patients’ perceptions of quality? What have you done to align the two? Post a comment below.
CAUTIs still a problem
Bit of a plug, but I think my visitors will find HCPro’s webcast on CAUTIs (catheter-associated urinary tract infections) extremely relevant, especially as CAUTIs cause 35% of all hospital-acquired infections every year, with 38,000 patient infections, and costing hospitals $400 million a year, according to an October 2011 National Quality Forum’s Partnership for Patients/ National Priorities Partnership webinar.
And don’t forget that The Joint Commission named CAUTIs a National Patient Safety Goal to be fully implemented by 2013. The Partnership for Patients also aims to reduce preventable CAUTIs by 50% by 2013.
So join nurse practitioner Mikel Gray, PhD, PNP, FNP, CUNP CCCN, FAANP, FAAN, and chief of infection prevention and 2012 APIC conference speaker Brian Koll, MD, FACP, FIDSA, for a live presentation of proven methods on CAUTI reduction, including how Beth Israel Medical Center reduced the number of CAUTIs by 83% using proven organization-wide catheter best practices such as evidence-based practice, staff education, daily need assessments, multidisciplinary teamwork, monitoring, and root-cause analysis. You’ll also get best practices to educate and train your entire staff.
Just a note that now, you can buy the live audio and download the on demand version free.
Editor’s note: This blog post originally appeared on the Patient Safety Monitor Blog.
Transparency…are we there yet?
Apparently not. Public reporting of surgical site infections is required in only eight states. That fact was brought to light by a new Johns Hopkins University report, which calls for more reporting. Lead author of the report, Martin Makary, MD, notes that patients still have little information when choosing hospitals.
Personally, I think the bigger issue is that public reporting gives hospitals, from the top down, a real push to do better. I think Makary does too:
“Nothing motivates hospitals to improve quality and listen to their front line staff like public reporting,” he says. “In order for the consumer to interpret publicly reported SSI rates, it is imperative that the data be collected and reported in a standardized manner,” he and his co-authors wrote.
I would have to agree. Surgical site infections not only result in 8,000 deaths a year in the U.S., they occur in 4% to 25% of patients who undergo major surgical procedures, and their cost to the healthcare system is about $10 billion annually (these stats are mentioned in the report and come from other studies).
Makary calls out state hospital associations for not supporting public reporting. What do you think? Is public reporting the way to change hospital culture?
Editor’s note: This blog post originally appeared on the Patient Safety Monitor Blog.
Visiting hours
How do you feel about unrestricted visiting hours? More and more organizations are moving toward removing restrictions and allowing family and friends to visit at any time.
Sixty-two percent of respondents to our StrategiesForNurseManagers.com poll said they have unrestricted visiting hours.
Thirty-eight percent said they have visiting hours that allow patients time to rest and helps staff organize their work.
Learning patient satisfaction from the Ritz
Yet another company outside the field of healthcare has offered its services to teach hospitals something about customer service and excellence. Of course, the customers in healthcare are patients, and taking care of them is different than taking care of customers.
Still, we’ve seen Disney offering lessons to healthcare institutions, and now the Ritz-Carlton. Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, TN, signed a $388,000 contract with the Ritz to help the hospital change its culture to service excellence.
What do you think? Is this a passing fad? Or is this the beginning to really focusing on patient satisfaction and service excellence in healthcare?
Source: Tami Swartz, Patient Safety Monitor Blog
