Report Finds Less than Half of Health Systems Made Investments to Deliver Better Patient Experience
Industry: Health & Fitness
Exclusive research from HealthLeaders Media shows that 84% of healthcare leaders rank patient experience as a top priority but 58% have not made investments to improve.
Boston (PRUnderground) August 15th, 2012
New research from HealthLeaders Media, a division of HCPro, Inc., reveals a dramatic gap between the strategic importance hospital executives place on patient experience in their organizations and the specific investments they’ve made to improve that experience.
According to the August 2012 HealthLeaders Intelligence Report, “Patient Experience and HCAHPS: Little Consensus on a Top Priority,” 84% of healthcare leaders surveyed rank patient experience among their top three management priorities. However, 58% say they have not made specific patient-experience investments throughout their hospitals and health systems.
The new report is based on proprietary research results drawn from the HealthLeaders Media Council, an exclusive group of more than 5,000 healthcare leaders nationwide. In addition to the latest findings on patient experience and expert analysis from top healthcare leaders, the report includes case studies from three leading-edge health systems that illustrate best practices in this important area of healthcare management: CaroMont Health (Gastonia, N.C.); Gundersen Lutheran Health System (La Crosse, Wisc.); and Provena Health (Mokena, Ill.).
The comprehensive industry intelligence report is available for free download, with support from Medseek. There are also two premium versions of the report available for purchase, which contain in-depth analysis and additional features.
Other key findings in the report include the following:
- Very few health systems link physician compensation to patient experience in a significant way, with just one in five providing a physician incentive larger than 5%
- In spite of the fact that the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey has become the principal metric for patient experience tracking, more than half (54 percent) say HCAHPS is not an effective measure of patient experience;
- The percentage of health systems placing patient experience responsibility with the CEO jumped from 14% in 2011 to 21% in 2012, perhaps a reflection of the fact that HCAHPS scores affect reimbursement rates; and
- Although patient experience is among the top three priorities for most healthcare organizations (84 percent), the biggest stumbling block to adopting a patient experience strategy is an abundance of other priorities that compete for funding.
“This new report helps healthcare leaders understand current strategies for patient experience and recognize discrepancies between attitudes and actions concerning HCAHPS,” says Edward Prewitt, editorial director at HealthLeaders Media, which publishes three versions of Intelligence Reports around a different key healthcare topic each month.
About HealthLeaders Media
HealthLeaders Media, a division of HCPro, Inc., is a leading multi-platform media company dedicated to meeting the business information needs of healthcare executives and professionals. As an integrated media company, HealthLeaders Media includes HealthLeaders magazine, HealthLeadersMedia.com, the HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Unit, HealthLeaders Media Rounds events, HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs reports, and California HealthFax. All these platforms may be found online at www.healthleadersmedia.com.
