Medical Practices Improving Service, Consumer Satisfac...( Press Ganey Medical Practice Pulse Re...),Health

Press Ganey Medical Practice Pulse Report Released Today

SOUTH BEND, Ind., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Competition and consumer empowerment has spurred improvements at medical practices across the nation and patient satisfaction is inching upwards as a result, according to a new report from Press Ganey Associates, Inc. The 2009 Medical Practice Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Health Care illustrates the impact of consumer-driven health care in which patients are making more proactive decisions about their own care. The report is based on the experiences of nearly 2.4 million patients treated at more than 10,000 locations across the nation in 2008.

"In recent years, actions like being more sensitive to patients, decreasing wait times, and making exam rooms more comfortable have led to an increase in patient satisfaction with medical practice services," said Lisa Cone-Swartz, vice president of medical practice and home care services at Press Ganey. "Administrators need to continue emphasizing changes to improve on the areas where consumers remain frustrated, including respect for the patient's time, both in the exam room and spent with the provider."

The report found physicians are motivated to implement changes to better retain patients and maintain a financially successful practice. This focus, in part, is linked to additional means for consumers to access, compare, and select the source of their health care. Pay-for-reporting and pay-for-performance initiatives are bringing even more national attention to patients' perceptions of their care and escalating the importance for caregivers to know what consumers are thinking and understand how patients define quality health care services. The report found patients' top priorities were:

1. Sensitivity of caregivers to patient needs
2. Overall cheerfulness of the practice
3. Overall rat
   '/>"/>