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BWH has received the second round of results (Q2) from its patient satisfaction survey conducted by Press, Ganey Associates, Inc. (PGA). The feedback was collected from more than 2,100 patients whose hospital stay occurred from April to June 2001.
The hospital switched its patient satisfaction survey vendor to PGA last year and has been receiving results from the PGA-administered survey since January 2001. The first round of 2001 results (Q1) were released shortly after the first survey period ended in March 2001. A chart comparing Q1 and Q2 overall section scores is included on page 4.
BWH’s overall mean score for Q2 placed the hospital in the 76th percentile when compared to other academic medical centers with more than 500 beds. This marks an improvement from the hospital’s placement in the 65th percentile in Q1. In addition, BWH continues to realize high response rates—more than 35 percent of medical/surgical inpatients and 40 percent of obstetrics inpatients voluntarily completed the survey.
“Consistent with Q1, Q2 results indicate BWH’s strengths lie in satisfaction with patients’ overall experience at BWH—a marker for high quality of care,” said Paula Johnson, MD, director of Quality Management Services at BWH, who explained that one improvement noted in the Q2 results was in the area of admissions. “Patients reported more favorable admissions experiences, moving the admissions section’s mean score from 81.4 to 82.5,” added Johnson.
Some opportunities for improvement that remain in the Q2 results include attention to personal issues and needs, discharge process and instructions, wait time and comfort during tests/treatments, and quality and temperature of meals served.
According to Johnson, Q1 and Q2 survey results will help BWH improve patient satisfaction at a time when the Massachusetts Health Quality Partnership (MHQP) plans for its fall 2002 public release of patient satisfaction data from hospitals across the state. The survey period for the 2002 public release will be during February and March 2002.
Quality Management Services is responsible for oversight of survey administration and result reporting. For more information, contact G. Troy Tomilonus at ext. 2-8956 or Michael Gustafson, MD at ext. 2-8894.