HCAHPS scores at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital: comparative analysis and improvement strategies

Hcahps Scores

HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) is a national survey that asks patients in regards to their experiences during a recent hospital stay Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Ga.

Compare the scores to state and national averages

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital when compared to the state and national average, it is clear that they have the highest score with state coming in last. It appears that when it comes to things like nurses and doctors communicating well, they had quite a bit of patients that were satisfied with their experience

Compare the scores to two other hospitals in the region

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital was compared to Palmyra Hospital and Lee County Memorial hospital. It appears that when it comes to patients experiences with nurses, doctor and staff, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital had a 10% lead over the other two hospitals. Also, when it comes to being timely & effective care the other two hospitals had more of a lead by 9%

Compare the survey response rates to two other hospitals in the region

When it comes to the surveys, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital was compared to Palmyra Hospital and Lee County Memorial hospital. The survey response rates were close. The HCAHPS results posted showed that Patients who reported that their room and bathroom were clean were high on all three of the hospitals with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital leading all three.

The following environmental and community factors could potentially influence HCAHPS scores in many ways:

cultural dynamics: This influence the HCAHPS score because it various cultures like the Mexican-Americans that did not speak English well and so they felt that got poor treatment so they rates low.

Educational dynamics: Those that had lees education felt that they were treated less and those that had more education got the best treatment and therefore scored higher.

Socioeconomic dynamics: Those that were from less economic background did not get the best treatment because of no insurance and those that had money got better treatment.

Explain potential short- and long-term financial impact on the organization.

One potential short- and long-term financial impact on the organization is the quality outcomes in the health coverage which helps to connect people with care, in many cases by linking them with a network of providers who participate in their health insurance plan. This is how managed care and preferred provider organizations work ( Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014).

Discuss the potential cause of the chosen hospital's HCAHPS scores.

There were a lot of things that contributed to the potential cause of the culture barriers, many gave less favorable comments and also the fact that those that were poor felt they were not given the best treatment so all of that had an impact on the scores. A lot of poor and minorities felt that because they did have insurance, they were given preferential treatment over those that do not have it.

Strategic plan to improve Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital HCAHPS Scores

There are many tools and tactics Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital can use to improve their communication with patients. Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital should use multiple modes of communication to emphasize important information and help their patients remember key instructions. "To strengthen significant information to patients, staff should both write instructions and repeat them orally, giving patient's time to reply with questions is one way. As far as technology trends, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital each patient's room would whiteboards to help physicians, nurses and staff connect with patients. Another tool Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital can use to guarantee effective communication is interpretation services. Providing interpreters for patients who do not speak or understand English is crucial for communicating data about medicine and discharge directives (An Independent Analysis of Phoebe Putney's Finances & Operations, 2014).

Develop an implementation plan and timeline for the strategic plan for Phoebe Putney Hospital

2014

Start including many tools and tactics hospitals can use to improve their communication with patients ( Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014)

Hospitals are also conducting follow-up calls to patients after discharge to answer any questions, ensure discharge instructions are followed and solicit feedback on their experience.

2015

Start requiring hospitals to collect, analyze and act on data about the patient experience.

2015

Start target specific drivers of satisfaction

Another key strategy in improving HCAHPS scores is to educate patients throughout their hospital stay.

Make a positive patient experience part of the culture.

Stakeholders

Those stakeholders involved with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in program operations will be the following: program staff, partners, Management, funding agencies, and coalition members.