ASP Global cares about your hospital’s success. A big part of that success is your patients’ experience, which is quantified through your hospital’s Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score.
According to the survey’s developer, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the HCAHPS provides “a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients’ perspectives on hospital care. The HCAHPS survey is administered to a random sample of patients continuously throughout the year. CMS cleans, adjusts, and analyzes the data, then publicly reports the results.” (Source)
So, why should your hospital’s personnel care about your hospital’s HCAHPS score? Simply put, your hospital could lose reimbursement as a result of a low HCAHPS score. CMS’s Value-Based Purchasing Program structures Medicare’s payment system to reward healthcare providers for providing high-quality care. Additionally, because the survey results are publicly reported, your scores can attract or repel new patients. This means your patients’ satisfaction matters!
With that being said, here are our top 3 tips for boosting your hospital’s HCAHPS score:
1. Communicate well.
Communication is without a doubt the biggest determining factor that goes into your HCAHPS score. The HCAHPS survey consists of 29 questions, and nearly half (12) of them revolve around communication. This means that if your patients habitually find themselves unattended to and/or confused, your HCAHPS score could take a big hit.
There are many ways to improve your hospital’s communication. People learn in different ways, so be sure to communicate important information out loud and on paper in order to accommodate visual and auditory learners. Additionally, repetition is key! It never hurts to repeat yourself to emphasize important information.
Also remember to prompt patients to ask questions, and give them plenty of time to think of them. Your hospital should cater to those who may process language slower, such as mentally disabled individuals or non-native speakers.
Lastly, follow-up calls are a key tool that your hospital should use to ensure your patients have all the correct information they need. This is also a good opportunity to collect patient feedback that will be helpful for improving your patients’ satisfaction before you hear their grievances in your hospital’s HCAHPS report.
2. Maintain a pleasant hospital environment.
The second most important determining factor for your HCAHPS score is the pleasantness of your hospital. Two questions in the survey pertain to the “cleanliness” and “quietness” of the hospital environment. Lately, the concept has been circulating that the patient’s room should be considered a private space. Patients want to rest and heal in peace, and that requires cleanliness and quietness.
Cleanliness is a no-brainer in a healthcare environment, but if there is room for improvement in your facility, always strive to improve! Improving quietness can be as simple as softening your tone of voice when speaking to coworkers, both inside the patient’s room and out, and trying to never argue with or criticize coworkers in the presence of patients.
An important factor in the pleasantness of your patients’ experience is the quality of the products they use. ASP Global’s amenity kits will enhance your patients’ experience by supporting the goals of cleanliness, quietness, and good communication. Just a few of the products we offer in our kits include shampoo, mouthwash, hairbrush, dental kit, earplugs, sleep mask, pen, notepad, and sudoku/crossword book. You can customize these products to feature your hospital’s logo, keeping your hospital on patients’ minds when they continue to use these products long after their hospital stay. This will encourage return patients, as well as improve your HCAHPS score!
3. Learn and grow from patient feedback.
Our number one tip for boosting your hospital’s HCAHPS score is to avoid a fixed mindset; there is always room for growth! Ask for and listen to patient feedback, and act on what you learn from it. When you receive your HCAHPS score, analyze what you could be doing better and work on it.
Hospitals are a business and need funding to thrive, but never forget the reason behind it all—the patients! We at ASP Global care about patient satisfaction and your hospital’s success. That’s why our goal is to help you reach your savings targets and your patient experience goals by designing and delivering the highest quality supplies and branded patient care products that represent your hospital during the period of care and after returning home.
About ASP Global
ASP Global is a partner to health systems, providing med-surg supplies, custom products, and patient preference items. By giving health systems control over cost and product design, we help our partners reach their savings targets and patient experience goals. ASP Global is a privately-held, Atlanta-based company with additional operations in the Pacific Rim. Click here to learn more!
