Patient Satisfaction

What is the source of these Clinical Data comparisons?
University Hospital contracts with Press Ganey Associates, an independent company, to measure inpatient satisfaction. Press Ganey sends patients a survey after they have been discharged from the hospital.

Several additional questions are provided by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) which is a way to develop comparisons among hospitals nationwide by asking a standard set of questions.

What this means: After completing the survey, patients answered a separate question that asked for an overall rating of the hospital. Ratings were on a scale from 0 to 10, where "0" means "worst hospital possible" and "10" means "best hospital possible."

Why is it important: Higher overall ratings mean that the patient was more satisfied with their experience. HCAHPS survey questions provides a method for comparison among hospitals on topics that are important to patients.

What this means: The survey asked patients whether they would recommend the hospital to their friends and family. The patient had for choices "definitely no;" "probably no;" "probably yes;" and "definitely yes." "Definitely yes" was the strongest positive answer.

Why is it important: A greater willingness to recommend the hospital means that the patient was more satisfied with their experience. HCAHPS survey questions provides a method for comparison among hospitals on topics that are important to patients.