What Every Clinician Needs to Know about Patient Satisfaction

Authors

Mac Pannill, University of LynchburgFollow

Specialty

Administrative

Advisor

Dr. Nancy Reid

Abstract

Patient satisfaction scores have become normative in healthcare and have become a measurable metric that is tied to reimbursement. Healthcare organizations and providers alike are being held accountable for their patient satisfaction scores. This is to put the patient first in a patient-centered health care environment. Patient satisfaction scores are used by insurance companies to determine reimbursement rates and which hospitals the insurance companies will use. These scores of paramount importance as they are made public which started in 2008. In this time of fierce market competitiveness, healthcare organizations cannot afford to lose patients over low satisfaction scores. Earning low scores will not only keep patients away, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) can and will withhold significant sums of money which can total in the millions. This can significantly impact an organization’s bottom line. These scores are used to understand, from the patient’s perspective, the strength and weaknesses of the provider and the healthcare system that they represent. These patient encounters can occur in a hospital setting or an outpatient setting. This is why providers must understand how to improve their patient satisfaction scores or risk losing money for the organization which in turn may cause the loss of jobs. The overall-arching importance of these patient satisfaction surveys and scores is for an organization to understand their strengths and weakness from the patient perspective so that changes in their processes or behaviors can be done.

Recommended Citation

Pannill M. What Every Clinician Needs to Know about Patient Satisfaction. University of Lynchburg DMSc Doctoral Project Assignment Repository. 2020; 2(3).