While a majority of doctors and nurses think it is important to check in with patients about what they expect to get from their care during a hospitalization, few have the training or awareness needed to ask the right questions, a team led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital found in a study released today in BMJ Quality & Safety. The use of patient satisfaction surveys as a measure of hospital quality has grown in recent years. And some studies have shown that patients, such as those who suffer heart attacks, may have better health outcomes if they report being happier with the care they have received.
