The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and
Systems (HCAHPS) is the first standardized, publicly reported survey of patient’s
perspectives of hospital care. First introduced to the public in 2008, it was intended
to help consumers compare the quality of healthcare providers and improve the
conditions and transparency inside these facilities. Patients are asked about
staff’s responsiveness to needs, quality of care and communication,
cleanliness, quietness, and more.
Fast
forward seven years later and only roughly 13% of U.S. hospitals received the
highest score (5 stars) on the new rating system introduced by the CMS. Out of
around 3,500 facilities, 101 received one star, 582 received two-stars, 1,414
received three-stars, 1,205 received four-stars, and 251 received five-stars.
In 2018,
patient satisfaction has only grown more vital for the success of a healthcare
facility and staff. Patient quality perception has become a top priority for
healthcare leaders with negative word of mouth potentially costing $6,000 -
$400,000 in lost healthcare revenues over one patient’s lifetime.
On the brighter note, satisfied patients result in more individuals following
treatment plans, returning to the same facility for future needs, lowered risk of
being named in lawsuits, and either improving or educating the
reasoning behind unpopular patient processes.
How can lighting help healthcare services save time, money, jobs, and
increase survey results?
A study comparing patient-satisfaction forms with staff
performance showed a better nurse work environment associated with
higher scores on every single survey question. Professionally installed lighting can
improve these environments through reducing errors, lowering stress levels in
the operating room, increasing sense of security for visitors and staff, boosting
overall morale, and can even better the cleaning quality by maintenance staff.
Effective lighting can also decrease length of hospital
stays, improve the sleep quality of patients, reduce depression, enable
critical chemical reactions in the body, and more. To learn more about these
impacts, read our latest blog.
In conclusion, the success of your practice relies heavily
on patient satisfaction, so we'll leave you with this: How are you going to ensure that
your hospital’s score reflects the quality of its services?
Let City Lighting Products help you begin answering that question today.
