The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey is the first national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients’ perspectives of hospital care. It is a survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients’ perceptions of their hospital experience. Although hospitals have collected patient satisfaction data for many years, the HCAHPS survey has become the national standard for collecting and publicly reporting information about the patient experience of care and is tied to reimbursement. Everything you do affects the patient experience and influences overall patient satisfaction. From landscaping to lighting, from room temperature to decor, noise levels, and all other aspects of the physical environment, you and your department play an important part in making sure that patients have a positive experience in the hospital setting. This session will enable you to—
• Explain how HCAHPS scores are used as a means to benchmark patient satisfaction within a hospital.
• List things you and your department can do to affect patient satisfaction.