The National Hospital Service Performance StudySM was based on responses from 2,500 patients who stayed in a hospital for at least one night within the previous three to nine months of being surveyed It found that three-fourths of patients used reputation-related information as their primary criteria in selecting a hospital. This translates to reputation playing a vital role in influencing a patient's choice of hospital!
Nearly one-half (48 percent) of patients said that the hospital's overall reputation was their primary criterion for selection, while 25 percent said the availability of good doctors and having skilled nurses on staff was most important in their selection.
The study measured overall patient satisfaction in five categories: dignity and respect; speed and efficiency; comfort; information and communication; and emotional support. Patients overall were very satisfied with the service they received during their most recent hospital stay, with 74 percent of patients giving the hospital high ratings regarding their hospital experience. Hospitals received the highest ratings from patients in the area of dignity and respect. Conversely, patients have consistently given hospitals the lowest ratings for speed and efficiency, with only 36 percent of patients indicating they were delighted. (An opportunity for improvement using HIT?)
5 Most Dangerous Trends Facing Hospitals
My friends at Hospital Impact also posted on the 5 Most Dangerous Trends Facing Hospitals:
1) Bottom line performance is not improving. Efficiency and cost cutting policies are not working. While hospitals have been going out of business at a rate of one hospital every 8 days for the last 30 years, the bankruptcy trend has started to accelerate in 2005.
2) Cutthroat competition to our medical centers include medical tourism. Medicare and Medicaid recent reimbursement reductions have made it harder for medical centers to survive. Competition from diagnostic testing facilities, ambulatory surgery centers and specialty hospitals are growing at record rates. India has recently become an early threat with two (2) hospitals that have been approved by the JCAHO.
3) Public is losing confidence in our hospitals. 35% of patients indicate a likelihood of not returning to the same hospital. 41% wouldn't recommend a hospital to their family.
4) Staff satisfaction is low. Nursing shortage of more than 1 million nurses as well as significant shortages in pharmacists, lab technicians, and other technical employees are expected by 2010. The hospital working environment is a key contributor to the 20% average burnout and staff turnover.
5) Lawsuits are on the rise. Medical malpractice has grown at an annual rate 30% faster than for all U.S. tort cases. The average malpractice settlement more than tripled from $95,000 in 1986 to $320,000 in 2002.
Southern California Hospitals!
To bring this all home, another study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, for the Hospital Association of Southern California, found that hospitals in Southern California in 2004 accounted for about 12.1%, or about $85.5 billion, of the region's economy. The study found that hospital expenditures exceeded revenues for this period at over 50% of the hospitals and that $8.2 billon will be spent on construction projects (bricks and mortar) in part due to population growth and strict seismic safety rules (an unfunded mandate.)
As we continue to move toward a National Health Information Infrastructure and find a place at the table for hospitals, we need to keep these realities in mind!
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