Patients' Satisfaction with Hospital Care on the Rise

HealthGrades Finds 1.6% Increase in Positive Responses to Hospital Experience Survey -

DENVER, Colo. (June 7, 2011) - HealthGrades, the nation's most trusted source for researching and selecting doctors and hospitals, today released findings of an analysis of patient satisfaction data for 3,797 U.S. hospitals.  HealthGrades found a 1.6% percent annual increase in the number of positive responses. Additionally:

  • Patients were the most satisfied with the discharge instructions with 81% of respondents answering that they did receive this critical information.

  • Patients were the least satisfied with the quietness of their rooms and the explanations of the medications they were being given with just over half (55% and 58% respectively) indicating they were satisfied with these aspects of their hospital care.

HealthGrades utilized HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) hospital survey data obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), from April 2009 to March 2010. HealthGrades also identified those hospitals performing in the top 10% in the nation for patient satisfaction, based on survey responses from patients treated at those facilities. These 339 hospitals were designated as 2011 Outstanding Patient Experience AwardTM recipients. Hospitals had to meet bed size, survey-response size, and clinical-quality thresholds in order to be eligible for the award. Information on award recipients and the ratings methodology is available, free to the public, at www.healthgrades.com.

"It's clear that patients are driving higher quality in our nation's hospitals," said Dr. Rick May, HealthGrades Vice President of clinical quality programs. "Hospitals take HCAHPS survey results very seriously and invest time and resources to ensure each patient's experience is the best possible. This is yet another example of how transparency in health care drives quality."

When compared to hospitals performing in the bottom 10% for patient satisfaction, HealthGrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award recipient hospitals are attributed with the following:

  • 45% more patients gave the hospital an overall rating of a 9 or a 10 (10 being the highest possible).

  • 34% more patients responded that they always received help from staff quickly.

  • 24% more patients reported that the staff always explained their medications to them prior to administering them.

  • 19% more patients felt their pain was always well controlled.

  • 45% more patients reported that they would definitely recommend the hospital to their family or friends.

  • Patients in the West North Central states expressed the most positive experience with their hospital stay followed by patients in the East South Central. Patients in the Mid-Atlantic region were least satisfied with their hospital stays.


HealthGrades Hospital Ratings
In this analysis, HealthGrades independently and objectively analyzed HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) hospital survey data obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) covering April 2009 to March 2010. To be included in the analysis, hospitals must have met minimum thresholds in terms of patient volumes, quality ratings, and the range of services provided. Individuals may compare their local hospitals online at HealthGrades.com. HealthGrades hospital ratings are independently created; no hospital can opt in or opt out of being rated, and no hospital pays to be rated.

About HealthGrades
HealthGrades is America's most trusted, independent source of physician information and hospital quality outcomes. HealthGrades online properties are the nation's leading destination for physician search and empower more than 200 million consumers annually to make informed health care decisions.

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Editor's note: A full copy of the report is available at http://www.healthgrades.com/ or by contacting Marsha Austin at [email protected].