How Grumpy Patients Can Cost Hospitals Big Bucks

Patient experience is subjective, but survey data may show that patients from certain regions are easier to please than others. This matters because under proposed federal regulations, 30% of a hospital's value-based purchasing score will be weighted on patient experience scores.

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2 comments on "How Grumpy Patients Can Cost Hospitals Big Bucks"

Jean Budding (2/4/2011 at 2:07 PM)

I agree with Nate Kaufman. Iowa hospitals have been paid unfairly. -Tweener hospitals are reimbursed lower than most hospitals in the nation. The big states didn't care when our reimbursement was 65% of cost. We have great patient scores. And, based on personal experience in Arizona, we have excellent care.

Richard Buchler (1/25/2011 at 5:12 PM)

We have to be careful that we don't make decisions based on opinions versus facts. The only fact in this story is that hospitals in these regions receive lower scores on patient satisfaction. There may be a large population of inherently unhappy people in these regions, but nothing in the original Press Ganey report nor this article supports that conclusion. It is just as likely that those hospitals provide care that is less satisfying to patients than hospitals in the rest of the country.