Patients Get the Chance to Voice Opinions

It appears that our government cares about our perceptions and opinions regarding hospitals and the care we get when confined to one.

The results of the first ever (what took so long?) federal survey of almost all hospitals in the U.S. (some chose not to participate) are in and many patients are not happy health care consumers.

National Hospital Association members helped develop standards for the this survey that provided patients with a constructive method to complain about grumpy nurses, inattentive doctors and less than aesthetic hospital rooms (translation: dirty and noisy).

On average, 25 percent of patients reported that nurses did not communicate well with them. Many reported they were not treated with courtesy and respect by nurses and doctors, did not receive adequate pain medication following surgery and either did not receive or clearly understand discharge instructions.

Granted, we are performing well 75 percent of the time but this reported communication gap is nothing to ignore. Poor communications are a major source of medical errors and inadequate discharge instructions greatly increase the likelihood of an emergency room visit or readmission to the hospital. And, of course, all of that then becomes a money issue.

The release of the survey data received praise from employers, labor unions and consumer groups, declaring that the information will make hospitals more accountable.

FYI, the state with the highest average satisfaction score (79 percent) is Alabama; the lowest (56 percent) is Hawaii. And, the hospitals that chose not to cooperate with the survey process? Medicare reports there will be a monetary penalty—perhaps as much as $100 per patient.

The data from this survey is posted online at http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/.