HealthGrades ranks top hospitals in patient experience

Hospitals providing the best patient experience in the nation, according to surveys of their patients overseen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, were identified today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, and posted to its website, www.healthgrades.com.

Hospitals ranked in the top 10% among the 3,775 hospitals that participated in the annual Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, or HCAHPS, received the HealthGrades 2010/2011 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™.

The HCAHPS survey was sent to recently discharged patients between July 2008 and June 2009 and includes 27 questions related to physician and nurse communication, hospital staff responsiveness, hospital cleanliness and noise levels, medication information, and post-discharge care instructions. It is a national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives of hospital care.

HealthGrades analyzed the survey results to compare hospitals that ranked in the top 10% and bottom 10% in patient satisfaction. HealthGrades found that for top-performing hospitals in patient satisfaction:
•50% more patients gave the hospital an overall rating of a 9 or a 10 (10 being the highest possible)
•26% more patients reported that their nurses always communicated well
•39% more patients responded that they always received help from staff quickly
•27% more patients reported that the staff always explained their medications to them prior to administering them
•22% more patients felt their pain was always well controlled
•29% more patients rested better because their room was always kept quiet at night
•24% more patients felt that their rooms and bathrooms were always kept clean
•13% more patients reported receiving instructions about what to do when they left the hospital
•50% more patients reported that they would definitely recommend the hospital to their family or friends.

Both the best and worst-performing facilities received the fewest positive responses for keeping patient rooms quiet at night (61% compared to 48% of recipients responded that the room was always kept quiet at night).

"More than ever, patients realize that they have a choice of local hospitals for procedures and treatments," said Rick May, MD, a vice president with HealthGrades. "In addition to comparing hospitals on patient outcomes, now they can also see which hospitals perform well from the perspective of other patients, a powerful resource that can help in crucial decision-making."

To identify the top-performing hospitals, HealthGrades analyzed survey results for the 3,775 hospitals nationwide that participated in the HCAHPS program during the study time period to determine which hospitals scored highest on the surveys. 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 now available, free to the public, at www.HealthGrades.com.

SOURCE Health Grades, Inc.