Media Release

For Immediate Release
Date: October 28, 2003
Contact: Jean Marie Rocha, RN, MPH 401-222-4872

HEALTH Releases New Results on Hospital Patient Satisfaction; Evaluation Shows the Public Performance Reporting Promotes Quality

Today, the RI Department of Health (HEALTH) released results of the second statewide survey on patient satisfaction with hospital services. The release also includes the first evaluation report on the impact of public reporting on hospital patient satisfaction. Patricia A. Nolan, MD, MPH, Director of HEALTH, was joined by: Lieutenant Governor Charles J. Fogarty, author of the 1998 legislation that created the Health Care Quality Program, and Arthur J. Sampson, Chairman of the HARI Board of Trustees and President and CEO of Newport Hospital.

The 1998 legislation, enacted with the support of the hospital community in Rhode Island, established two major goals: public accountability and quality improvement. The Health Care Quality Program publicly reports on two areas of measurements: patient satisfaction and clinical performance of licensed health care facilities.

"When I sponsored this law in 1998," said Lt. Governor Charles J. Fogarty, " my goals were twofold: to publicly provide information on health care quality to help patients, their doctors and those who pay for health care to make more informed choices, and to help hospitals and other providers improve the quality of care. Achieving these goals is even more important today as we face double digit health care cost increases. It is vital to show that the care we provide is of the highest quality. I am proud that the reports released today show that these goals are being achieved. I commend our hospitals, Dr. Nolan and the HEALTH staff and Quality Partners of Rhode Island who have worked so hard to make our state a national leader on health care quality reporting."

This hospital patient satisfaction report includes responses from adult patients hospitalized for at least a one-night stay between December 2002 and March 2003 for 11 general hospitals and between April 2003 and July 2003 for two specialty-care hospitals in Rhode Island. Over 5,000 Rhode Islanders responded to the survey. The survey focused on satisfaction with medical, surgical, obstetrical, psychiatric and rehabilitation services.

"Patient satisfaction is an important component of health care quality," said Patricia A. Nolan, MP, MPH, Director of the RI Department of Health. "This second statewide public report demonstrates an ongoing commitment to quality improvement. The companion report also shows, for the first time, the positive results that occur when information about quality of health services becomes public. We are encouraged both by the continued joint effort to gather information about patient satisfaction and by the overall result this program has on the quality of health care in Rhode Island."

The report compared satisfaction among patients in Rhode Island with national results. Medical and Surgical patients in Rhode Island rated the care they received from physicians and the discharge process better than the comparative national score. However, these same patients rated their experiences with the admission process as an area where improvements could be made. For the most part, Obstetrical patients in Rhode Island rated their hospital care experiences the same as or better than the comparative scores. Rehabilitation facility patients in Rhode Island rated their treatment above the comparative score for occupational, recreational, social work/ discharge services. Patients in the state’s only psychiatric facility rated their overall experience the same as the composite score, but rated the Admission process as needing improvement.

The release also provided some insight about the effect that performance reporting has on the quality of care in Rhode Island. The evaluation report focused on measuring the response of hospitals to the public release of the first hospital patient satisfaction report in December 2001. HEALTH commissioned Qualidigm, a quality improvement organization (QIO), to conduct the study. The study, initiated one year after the public report’s release, relies on three data sources: interviews, focus groups and web site activity. Key hospital staff from clinical, administrative and public relations departments from 13 hospitals participated in focus groups and interviews. Researchers used tracking data from Department of Health website to determine the number of times that the hospital patient satisfaction report was accessed.

"Measuring and improving patient satisfaction has long been a top priority for hospitals in Rhode Island," said Arthur J. Sampson, Chairman of the HARI Board of Trustees and President and CEO of Newport Hospital. "The unique benefit of this program is that it enables hospitals to gather input from patients in exactly the same way, which allows for a greater sharing of "best practices" among all participants. We are very pleased with the exchange of ideas and the open cooperation among our hospitals."

The evaluation report shows that the statewide public reporting process had a definite impact on quality improvement activities at all of the hospitals in Rhode Island. For example, most hospitals reported hospital quality improvements in Admission Process, Patient Education, Food Service, Nursing and Cleanliness and Comfort. Hospitals also frequently targeted customer service, emergency departments, and clinical conditions for quality improvement

"The collaboration of all hospitals made this study possible." said Judith K. Barr, ScD, Senior Scientist at Qualidigm and co-author of the study. "It shows clearly the prior and ongoing commitment of the hospitals in Rhode Island to quality improvement, especially to improving the patient’s experience in the hospital. The solid support of senior management for the quality improvement process in their hospitals should help sustain QI efforts in the future. Moreover, the recommendations are being used by HEALTH to develop additional approaches to improving health care quality in Rhode Island."

These reports and other information on quality health care can be viewed at the Department of Health’s website at www.health.ri.gov/chic/performance/home.htm.

In addition to viewing these reports, HEALTH will launch a Hospital Patient Satisfaction Report 2003 web survey that will collect responses from the public and provide additional useful information on patient satisfaction in hospitals in Rhode Island.

Individuals seeking language assistance or to help better understand the report may contact Aging 2000 at (401) 521-7930, Urban League of Rhode Island at (401) 351-5000 ext. 147, International Institute of Rhode Island at (401) 461-5940 and Office of Minority Health at (401) 222-2901.