Solid HCAHPS Scores Only a Start

Each champion, who may be a nurse, clinical director, or physician, reports to a hospital quality improvement committee and medical executive committee. Those committees, in turn, report to the hospital C-suite. "Different areas of the hospital have dashboards, and they monitor their own unit scores," Allen-Fedor says "They work on any improvements needed."

Metro has worked closely with consultants to tweak nurse and physician interactions with patients to improve HCAHPS scores.

"You tell the patient you are taking care of them, you are knowledgeable, and you are glad they chose Metro," Allen-Fedor says, referring to when nurses, for instance, greet newly arrived patients. "If a patient is waiting, you might say, 'We expect you to be in the room for 15 minutes.'" If you can explain why there will be a delay and how long it will be, it helps.  "You explain procedures so patients understand."

This article appears in the August 2012 issue of HealthLeaders magazine.

See Also:

• How One Hospital Works to Win Over Patients
• How a Big-Time Hospital Creates a Small-Town Patient Experience
• Developing and Sustaining High-Quality Patient-Centered Care
• No Defined Direction on the Patient Experience Journey