Page 421 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

388 n PATIeNT SATISFACTION

major considerations. Patient satisfaction is patients 27 questions about their recent hos-
defined as the degree to which the patient’s pital stay 48 hours to 6 weeks after discharge.
P desired goals and expectations are achieved The survey contains 18 core questions and
(Fitzpatrick and Hopkins, 1983; Mahon, eight aspects of the patients’ hospital experi-
1996). eriksen (1995) defined patient satisfac- ences such as communication with doctors,
tion with nursing care as “the patient’s sub- communication with nurses, responsiveness
jective evaluation of the cognitive-emotional of hospital staff, pain management, commu-
response that results from the interaction nication about medicines, discharge informa-
between the patient’s expectations of nursing tion, cleanliness of the hospital environment,
care and their perception of the actual nurse and quietness of the hospital environment.
behaviors/characteristics” (p. 71). Studies The survey also includes four screener ques-
indicate that nursing care is a key determi- tions and five demographic items, which are
nant in overall patient satisfaction in the used for adjusting the mix of patients across
hospital setting (Abramowitz, Cote, & Berry, hospitals and for analytical purposes. The
1987; Beck & larrabee, 1996; Greeneich, 1993; survey can be administered by mail, tele-
Jacox, Bausell, & Mahrenholz, 1997). phone, mail with telephone follow-up, or
Donabedian (1988) proposed a frame- active interactive voice recognition. Hospitals
work in evaluating the quality of health care. can use the HCAHPS survey alone or include
The quality of health care is viewed from additional questions to the core HCAHPS
the perspectives of structure, process, and items. Hospitals are required to survey
outcome. Patient satisfaction is considered patients monthly (HCAHPS, 2010).
an important quality indicator (Wagner & The American Nurses Association imple-
Bear, 2009) and outcome of care (Press, 2006; mented the Nursing Care Report Card for
Woodring et al., 2004). Acute Care that includes nursing-sensitive
The importance of patient satisfaction quality indicators such as patient satisfac-
as a quality indicator has been mandated by tion with overall care, nursing care, educa-
regulatory and accreditation bodies in nurs- tion, and pain management (Moore, lynn,
ing and in health care. Health care organiza- McMillen, & evans, 1999; Woodring et al.,
tions such as the Joint Commission and the 2004). The Magnet Recognition Program iden-
National Committee on Quality Assurance tified 14 forces of magnetism over 5 years ago,
require measurement and monitoring of which focused more on structure and pro-
patient satisfaction (Joint Commission, 2010). cess (American Nurses Credentialing Center,
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care 2008). In 2007, a new model focusing on out-
Act of 2010 have provisions to ensure the comes was developed. In the new model, four
delivery of quality care, quality measure- categories were identified. These categories
ment, data collection, and public reporting. It were patient outcomes, empirical quality
includes the Hospital Consumer Assessment outcomes, nurse organization, and consumer
of Healthcare Providers and Systems outcomes. Patient overall satisfaction and
(HCAHPS, 2010) among the measures to be patient satisfaction with nursing care, edu-
used to calculate value-based incentive pay- cational information, and pain management
ments beginning October 2012. were patient outcome indicators (American
The HCAHPS survey developed and Nurses Credentialing Center, 2008).
tested by the Centers for Medicare and Research on patient satisfaction with
Medicaid Services in partnership with the nursing care included the development of
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient satisfaction models and the develop-
is the first national, standardized, publicly ment, refinement, and use of patient satisfac-
reported survey of the patients’ perspectives tion instruments. Few studies were done on
of hospital care. The HCAHPS survey asks patient satisfaction before the 1970s. Abdellah