Patient satisfaction is critical to the success of hospitals and other healthcare settings. Providers that consistently fail to meet patients’ satisfaction risk damaging their reputation in the community, and patient satisfaction tied to valid health and safety concerns — such as staff not following hand hygiene best practices — can lead to costly healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
Because hand hygiene plays such a significant role in preventing the spread of infection, patients want to know that best practices are being followed. Hand hygiene monitoring has become an increasingly popular solution for both preventing HAIs and putting patients’ minds at ease for a healthier and happier patient experience.
What is patient satisfaction?
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, patient satisfaction “is about whether a patient’s expectations about a health encounter were met.”
Why does patient satisfaction matter to hospitals?
There is significant incentive for hospitals to improve their patient satisfaction scores. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, “Forces contributing to the growing imperative to improve patient experience include the public reporting of CAHPS survey scores as well as various initiatives to build measures of the patient experience into performance-based compensation systems, board certification and licensing, and practice recognition programs.”
The same article notes that good patient experience is “associated with lower medical malpractice risk,” as well as greater employee satisfaction, higher patient loyalty, and even better healthcare outcomes.
The rise of online reviews and other public-facing rating systems have also made it easier for members of the public to make more informed decisions about their care and choose a hospital that is less likely to make errors or cause harm. The easily accessible Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, for example, incorporates patient experience into its surveys and scoring.
Factors that affect patient satisfaction
The FPM, a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Academy of Family Physicians, notes five key areas that affect patient satisfaction:
- Expectations
- Communication
- Control
- Time spent
- Appearance
Overall health and safety also play a significant role in patient satisfaction. Patients want to see that healthcare providers are following best practices for hand hygiene and other health and safety measures. A patient who perceives a disregard for these best practices is unlikely to be satisfied with their care because it puts them at greater risk of illness or injury.
How can hospitals improve patient satisfaction?
The FPM suggests that hospitals can improve patient satisfaction by training their providers to get a clear understanding of patient expectations and communicate with them in a more positive way. Patients should be given the time to express their concerns and ideas so that the provider and patient can “practice shared decision making.”
When it comes to health and safety, hospitals should coordinate with their Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, and/or infection preventionist to implement best practices to prevent injuries, accidents, and the spread of healthcare-associated infections like C diff. Clearly demonstrating that these best practices are being followed can put patients at ease and improve patient satisfaction.
For example, a West Coast hospital found that patients wanted a way of knowing whether a staff member had washed or sanitized their hands. The hospital installed sanitizing stations in clear view of the patients’ beds and introduced an electronic hand hygiene monitoring solution to keep its staff accountable. This solution uses a badge clipped to the uniform or lab coat of hospital staff to visually communicate hand hygiene compliance; a green light indicates that the staff members’ hands had been washed and sanitized. Patients were made aware of this system so they could confirm best practices for hand hygiene were being followed.
After implementing these changes, the hospital rose to the 90th percentile in overall hand hygiene compliance and patient satisfaction.
Want to learn more about improving patient satisfaction with a hand hygiene solution? Download our whitepaper here.