PENSACOLA, Fla. - Hospitals nationwide are now sharing with the public survey results measuring their patients' experience in a hospital - from the nursing care to the cleanliness of the room.
A new quality comparison tool, which has been in the works for years, is now available to the public online at www.HospitalCompare.hhs.gov. The new Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) is the first national, standardized, publicly reported survey that captures the patients' perception of the care they received.
More than three of every four patients at Sacred Heart said they would "definitely recommend" the hospital to family and friends - a rating well above the statewide average.
"Sacred Heart Health System supports the efforts of hospitals to be more open about the quality of care they provide," said Debbie Bostic, president of Sacred Heart Hospital. "The national survey results will provide information that will be useful to consumers when choosing a hospital. We are pleased that Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola received very good ratings from its patients, with overall scores that were higher than the state and national averages."
With the common goal of continually improving patient safety and quality of care, the primary objectives of HCAHPS include creating a nationally standardized survey for meaningful comparisons and increasing hospital accountability. The survey is sent by each hospital to a percentage of hospital inpatients. The standardized survey includes 27 questions that are bundled into the following 10 composite scores:
- Communication with doctors
- Communication with nurses
- Responsiveness of hospital staff
- Pain management
- Communication about medicines
- Discharge information
- Cleanliness of the hospital environment
- Quietness of the hospital environment
- Overall rating of the hospital
- Willingness to recommend the hospital to family and friends
On the overall ratings, 73 percent of Sacred Heart's patient rated their care as a nine or 10 on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the highest rating. Sacred Heart's rating was considerably better than the statewide average, which was 56 percent, and also exceeded the national average of 63 percent.
On a standard question where patients were asked about their "willingness to recommend this hospital," Sacred Heart again scored well above average. Some 78 percent of Sacred Heart patients answered "Yes. Definitely recommend." The statewide average was 61 percent and the national average was 67 percent.
The highest scoring hospital in Northwest Florida was Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, which scored 90 percent on both patient rating questions.
"The survey shows where Sacred Heart's hospitals are doing well, and it also shows areas where we can improve," said Bostic. "Improving care is an ongoing process and this survey is going to push our hospital and all hospitals to better meet the needs of our patients."
Hospitals nationwide have been collecting this data since 2006 and reporting it to the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA), a national public-private collaboration of hospital groups, consumer representatives, physician and nursing organizations, and government agencies. The HQA created a public web site - www.HospitalCompare.hhs.gov -- to give consumers a look at the numbers. The web site also provides clinical information on hospitals, with ratings on how well they comply with certain guidelines for providing patients with the right care at the right time.
