Going from Good to Great Care — 5 Ways to Boost HCAHPS Scores

By: Dr. Andrew Brooks | April 7, 2014 (Featured on Becker’s Hospital Review)

As our healthcare system continues its move toward an outcomes/value based environment, patient feedback regarding their personal experience will undoubtedly become increasingly important. A critical indicator of patient satisfaction is HCAHPS, or Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.

This national standardized survey measures patient perceptions of the quality of care they receive at acute-care hospitals. Every day, more than 7,900 patients complete the HCAHPS survey. Recently, these scores have begun to be used to calculate incentive payments for hospital reimbursement.

Here are five strategies hospitals can use to boost their HCAHPS scores:

1. Make improving the patient experience a priority. In order to make the patient experience a priority, hospital leaders must create a culture that values the patient experience. Training healthcare staff to adopt a more patient-centric, service-oriented approach to patient care will be increasingly important. Raising interaction levels with the patients themselves is important as it facilitates first-hand feedback from patients and families. This direct feedback is vital in helping hospitals continuously improve patient satisfaction…

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