Hospitalized Older Adults’ Patient Satisfaction

Neale R Chumbler,Samir P Desai,Richard S Kurz,Patrick A Herrmann,Koichiro Otani

doi:10.1177/2158244016645639

Abstract

This article examines the extent to which older adult patients’ perceptions of inpatient dimensions of care experiences are associated with their overall satisfaction. A secondary objective is to determine if these specific care experiences differed between elderly female and male patients. Patient satisfaction data from 6,021 older patients (65 years of age and older) were collected by using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Survey through telephone interviews of older patients who were recently discharged. Multiple linear regression analyses with older patients’ HCAHPS dimensions (Communication With Nurses, Communication With Doctors, Responsiveness of Hospital Staff, Communication About Medicines, Cleanliness of the Hospital Environment, and Quietness of Hospital Environment) and gender were conducted while controlling for self-rated health status, age, race, and education. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that all of the HCAHPS dimensions were significantly associated with overall satisfaction. Older female patients reported substantially more positive global evaluations than their male counterparts. However, for older male patients, Communication With Doctors was more influential in their ratings of overall satisfaction than for older female patients. For older female patients, Communication With Nurses was more influential in their ratings of overall satisfaction than for older male patients.

Highlights

Patients’ satisfaction has been found to be correlated with the subsequent use of health services, and influences both patient compliance and the continuity of care (Hall, Milburn, & Epstein, 1993; Linn, 1975; MacStravic, 1991; Xiao & Barber, 2008)
Being an older female patient was associated with an 8.1point increase in overall satisfaction after adjusting for hospital experiences, age, race, education, and self-rated health status
All six hospital experience indicators were significantly associated with overall satisfaction

Summary

Introduction

Patients’ satisfaction (defined as measuring the needs and wants) has been found to be correlated with the subsequent use of health services, and influences both patient compliance and the continuity of care (Hall, Milburn, & Epstein, 1993; Linn, 1975; MacStravic, 1991; Xiao & Barber, 2008). Admission to a hospital can be a traumatic and frustrating experience for many individuals. Patient satisfaction and experiences in the hospital setting are considered a cornerstone in the evaluation of health care quality (Danielsen et al, 2010) and have assumed an even greater significance subsequent to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 (P.L. 111-148, Section 3001). HCAHPS became a component of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update (RHQDAPU) program. RHQDAPU instructs that general acute care hospitals that do not report a specific set of quality indicators may have up to a 2% reduction in their annual payment update (Goldstein, Elliott, Lehrman, Hambarsoomian, & Giordano, 2010)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion