A recent study has revealed that majority of hospital patients rarely recommend their hospitals to their relatives and friends. The federal government recently issued ratings for majority of the nation’s medical institutions, including the first uniform national survey of patients.
The survey was intended as a constructive means of feedback for patients, and was supposed to serve as ways to complain about substandard medical facilities, rude doctors, inept medical staff and dirty or noisy hospital rooms. It has been said that the results of the survey were mostly related to the quality of care provided.
A large number of patients stated that the doctors and nurses who handled them lacked courtesy and respect, and that after-surgery pain medication was either lacking or entirely non-existent. It has also been said that no instructions were given after being discharged from the hospital.
The new data and parts of the survey of patient experiences regarding hospital care can be found at a government website: http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov
The measures were developed with the help of American Hospital Association president Richard J. Umbdenstock, intended to provide “apples to apples comparison” of state, local, and national hospitals.
While a success in general terms, experts have said that the results are a legitimate cause for concern, since it means that communication between doctors and patients are compromised and could result in patients being readmitted to the hospital or ending up in Intensive Care Units.
A new set of surveys will be made soon and Medicare officials have said that hospitals who do not report the data will have their Medicare payments reduced by about $100 for every case.
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