Unprecedented Spike in Patient Satisfaction Follows Launch of Public...( Press Ganey findings support positi...),Health

Press Ganey findings support positive impact of transparency initiative

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Press Ganey Associates, Inc., the health care industry's leading provider of quality improvement solutions, today released data showing an unprecedented improvement in patient satisfaction -- a result that underscores the impact of public reporting of hospital-by-hospital satisfaction scores.

Press Ganey experts analyzed the company's proprietary patient satisfaction data -- including Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) measures -- for hospitals that began reporting HCAHPS data in March 2008, and found a dramatic upturn in patient satisfaction, which strengthens the link between public disclosure and health care quality.

The data analyzed by Press Ganey represents more than 1.5 million patients and 1,158 hospitals across the nation from January 2007 through June 2008*.

Following the first public release of HCAHPS data in March, a positive year-over-year increase in performance was seen in April. This further widened to statistically significant year-over-year increases for the months of May and June. These trends were noted both for the percentage of patients rating their hospital as a 9 or 10 as well as the percentage of patients who said they would definitely recommend the facility, which directly impacts a hospital's patient volumes and its revenue.

Press Ganey has been looking at patient satisfaction data very closely for 23 years, and these trends represent the most positive service quality delivery in inpatient care that our nation has ever experienced.

"We have always seen a slow and steady improvement in patient-centered care over the years. The HCAHPS measures show a dramatic increase timed following the public reporting which indicates that everyone really stepped up their efforts -- and the results are astounding," said Dr. Deirdre Mylod, vice president of ac
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