SOUTH BEND, Ind., May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Press Ganey Associates, Inc., the health care industry's leading provider of improvement solutions, today released its 2008 Home Care Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Health Care. The report shows a continued upward trend in patient satisfaction, high ratings for attending nurses, and lower ratings for administrative tasks such as billing and scheduling.
More than 210,000 patients treated by 541 agencies nationwide provide perspectives on their care for this year's Home Care Pulse Report. Notable findings from the 2008 Report include:
"It's clear the home care industry is making important improvements to increase their quality of care as evidenced by the trend we have seen over the past several years," says Dr. Melvin Hall, president and chief executive officer of Press Ganey. "Continuous improvement becomes increasingly important as competition and quality initiatives play a larger role in home care."
Home care providers are increasingly focused on the patient experience as a competitive advantage. Leading home care agencies are finding that a focus on communication, individual patient needs, and patient-centered care in general have benefits that go beyond their reputation.
"Home care providers who actively work to improve their patients' experiences are finding strong correlations with favorable clinical outcomes and financial results," said Lisa Cone-Swartz, Press Ganey's vice president of home health services. "Committed agencies can make a meaningful difference in their patients' lives and at the same time improve the health of their organizations."
The 2008 Home Care Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Health Care is now available at http://www.pressganey.com/cs/pressroom. Commentary from Ms. Cone-Swartz and Dr. Hall is available upon request.
Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
For more than twenty years, Press Ganey has been committed to providing insight that allows health care organizations to improve the quality of care they provide while improving their bottom-line results. The company offers the largest comparative customer feedback databases, actionable data, solution resources, and unparalleled consulting and customer service. Press Ganey currently partners with more than 7,000 health care facilities -- including over 40% of U.S. hospitals-to measure and improve the quality of their care.
SOURCE Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
