Acute Care and Trauma Surgeons: We Can't Get No Satisfaction—What Do Satisfaction Surveys Measure?

Patient satisfaction surveys are increasingly being used as a measure of physician performance in a hospital setting. We sought to determine what role the clinical condition the physician is treating has on overall patient satisfaction scores. Patient satisfaction scores were calculated for elective and emergent general surgery and trauma patients for eight surgeons taking care of all three types of patients. Both physician satisfaction (PP) and hospital satisfaction (GP) scores were calculated. Mean scores (± standard deviation) between groups were compared with P < 0.05 significance. Of 1521 trauma patients and 3779 general surgery patients, there was 14.8 and 15.1 per cent response rate, respectively, to the survey. Trauma patients had a significantly lower PP than general surgery patients (81.0 ± 19.4 vs 85.7 ± 16.4; P < 0.001). However, the GP between trauma and general surgery was not significant (84.0 ± 13 vs 84.0 ± 12.3; nonsignificant) When general surgery patients were divided into emergent versus elective, the PP was significantly higher for elective than emergent (87.9 ± 14.6 vs 82.7 ± 18; P < 0.001). A patient's underlying clinical condition may influence response to patient satisfaction surveys. Further research needs to be performed before patient satisfaction surveys can be adopted as a overall measure of physician competency.

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Effect of Real-Time Surveys on Patient Satisfaction Scores in the Emergency Department

Education Research International ◽

10.1155/2019/6132698 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Julia Sobel ◽

Jessica Bates ◽

Vivienne Ng ◽

Matthew Berkman ◽

Tomas Nuño ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Patient Satisfaction ◽

Real Time ◽

Physician Behavior ◽

Resident Physicians ◽

Patient Satisfaction Scores ◽

Behavior Modifications ◽

Satisfaction Measures ◽

Attending Physicians ◽

Satisfaction Surveys

Background. Patient satisfaction surveys have become increasingly important as their results help to determine Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement. However, these questionnaires have known sources of bias (self-selection, responder, attribution, and nonresponse). Objective. We developed a real-time (RT) survey delivered in the hospital ED to evaluate the effect of implementing RT patient satisfaction surveys on physician behavior and hypothesized that the timing of patient satisfaction survey delivery would significantly impact the results. Method. Data from real-time patient satisfaction surveys were collected in phases from 12/2015 to 5/2017. Hospital-sponsored (HS) surveys were administered after discharge from 12/2015 to 12/2016. Results. For RT surveys, resident physicians were significantly more likely to write their names on the whiteboard (p=0.02) and sit down (p=0.01) with patients. Behavior modifications by attending physicians were not significant. Patient satisfaction measures did not improve significantly between periods for RT or HS surveys; however, RT survey responders were significantly more likely to recommend the ED to others. Conclusion. The timing of survey administration did significantly alter resident physician’s behavior; however, it had no effect on patient satisfaction scores. RT responders were significantly more likely to recommend the emergency department to others.

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Factors associated with patient satisfaction scores for physician care in trauma patients

Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery ◽

10.1097/ta.0b013e318298484f ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 110-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Frederick Rogers ◽

Michael Horst ◽

Tuc To ◽

Amelia Rogers ◽

Mathew Edavettal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Patient Satisfaction ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Patient Satisfaction Scores ◽

Physician Care

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Impact of Acute Care General Surgery Coverage by Trauma Surgeons on the Trauma Patient

The American Surgeon ◽

10.1177/000313480807400607 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 74 (6) ◽

pp. 494-502 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paul J. Schenarts ◽

Sachin V. Phade ◽

Claudia E. Goettler ◽

Brett H. Waibel ◽

Steven C. Agle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Length Of Stay ◽

Trauma Patient ◽

Acute Care ◽

General Surgery ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Trauma Service ◽

Severity Scores ◽

Trauma Surgeons ◽

The Impact

Although acute care general surgery (ACS) coverage by trauma surgeons may help re-invigorate the field of trauma surgery, introducing additional responsibilities to an already overburdened system may negatively impact the trauma patient. Our purpose was to determine the impact on the trauma patient of a progressive integration of ACS coverage into a trauma service. Data from a university, Level I trauma registry was retrospectively reviewed to compare demographics, injury severity, complications, and outcomes over a 6-year period. During this study period, the trauma service treated only trauma patients for 32 months, then added ACS coverage 2 days per week for 32 months, and then expanded to 4 days per week coverage for 9 months. Trauma patients admitted during periods of ACS coverage were not different with respect to gender, mechanism of injury, Revised Trauma Score, or Glasgow Coma Score; however, they were slightly older and had slightly higher injury severity scores. As ACS coverage progressively increased, trauma patients had an increase in ventilator days ( P < 0.0001), intensive care unit length of stay ( P < 0.0001), and hospital length of stay ( P < 0.0001). Occurrences of neurologic, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and infectious complications were similar during all three time periods, whereas cardiac and renal complications progressively increased after ACS coverage was added. Mortality remained unchanged after ACS integration.

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An Integrated Model to Accelerate Patient Satisfaction Improvement

American Journal of Medical Quality ◽

10.1177/1062860620953213 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 106286062095321

Author(s):

Dennis R. Delisle ◽

Jana Dajani ◽

Lauren Overton

Keyword(s):

Patient Satisfaction ◽

Hospital Setting ◽

Employee Training ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Integrated Model ◽

Nursing Unit ◽

Service Excellence ◽

Strategic Direction ◽

Patient Satisfaction Scores ◽

Hospital Executives

Patient satisfaction is gaining traction in the strategic direction and daily operations of hospital executives. The financial penalty/incentive tied to patient satisfaction scores creates a burning platform to accelerate progress. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of various improvement strategies including leadership rounding and employee training, among others. There has not been a study utilizing an integrated model that incorporates known best practices into a holistic approach. The integrated model included service excellence training, nursing unit-specific action plans, and weekly leadership rounding. Implementation of the model led to significant and sustainable improvements in patient satisfaction in the community hospital setting. This approach can be leveraged and scaled in other organizations to accelerate the pace of change.

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The importance of combining open-ended and closed-ended questions when conducting patient satisfaction surveys in hospitals

Health Policy OPEN ◽

10.1016/j.hpopen.2021.100033 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 100033

Author(s):

Keren Semyonov-Tal ◽

Noah Lewin-Epstein

Keyword(s):

Patient Satisfaction ◽

Satisfaction Surveys

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Development of a combined paediatric emergency department and observation unit

BMJ Open Quality ◽

10.1136/bmjoq-2019-000688 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. e000688

Author(s):

Czer Anthoney Enriquez Lim ◽

Julie Oh ◽

Erick Eiting ◽

Catherine Coughlin ◽

Yvette Calderon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Quality Improvement ◽

Patient Satisfaction ◽

Patient Outcomes ◽

Close Monitoring ◽

Observation Unit ◽

Paediatric Emergency Department ◽

Paediatric Emergency ◽

Patient Satisfaction Scores ◽

Conversion Rates

BackgroundRecent trends towards more cost-efficient and patient-centred treatment are converging to provide opportunities to improve the care of children. Observation units are hospital areas dedicated to the ongoing evaluation and management of patients for a brief period of time for well-defined conditions. We describe the implementation of a paediatric observation unit (POU) adjacent to a paediatric emergency department (PED) in an urban, academic, community hospital.MethodsStaffing models were designed to provide paediatric services to patients in both the PED and POU. Admission criteria, workflow and transfer guidelines were developed. Quality improvement initiatives were undertaken and evaluated. Unit throughput, patient outcomes and patient satisfaction data were collected and analysed.ResultsOver a 2-year period, there were 24 038 patient visits to the PED. Of these, 1215 (5.1%) patients required admission. Seven hundred and seventy-seven (64.0%) of these children were admitted to the POU. One hundred and nineteen (15.3%) of these patients were subsequently converted to inpatient hospitalisation. The average length of stay (LOS) was 25.7 hours in 2017 and 26.5 hours in 2018. Ten patients returned to the PED within 72 hours of discharge from the POU and four were readmitted. Patient satisfaction scores regarding ‘likelihood to recommend’ improved from the 36th to the 92nd percentile rank over a 1-year period. Close monitoring of patient outcomes allowed for the adjustment of admission guidelines, increased unit census and optimised utilisation.ConclusionA combined PED-POU has been successful at our institution in meeting benchmark goals set for LOS and conversion rates. In addition, quality improvement interventions increased patient census and improved patient satisfaction scores while reducing the inpatient burden on the referring children’s hospital.

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