More on Patient Satisfaction Impact

Earlier we discussed a study by Drs. Cheryl Rathert and Douglas R. May titled “ Health care work environments, employee satisfaction, and patient safety: Care provider perspectives ” that looked at the idea that a customer satisfaction focus in the healthcare industry (termed: patient centered) would result in: Fewer hospital errors.

Greater nurse satisfaction. They set out to find the answers to their hypotheses by sending out surveys to nurses questioning them about things like satisfaction level, patient safety, and so on. The results appear to be interesting, and support the idea that reducing medical errors may be possibly by focusing on patient care.

The study found that there was a strong correlation between three different factors: Patient Safety Patient Satisfaction Employee Satisfaction All three seemed to be related. Employees that were satisfied were more likely to be careful about things related to patient safety. Safer patients in general made employees more satisfied, and both contributed to patient satisfaction.

One of the more interesting relationships was the reporting of errors. When a nurse made or found a possible error, they were more likely to report it in workplaces that had greater satisfaction scores. Reporting those errors led to fewer subsequent errors, which once again improved patient safety, which in turn continued to improve employee satisfaction.

Hospitals today are often struggling financially. Spending resources improving both employee satisfaction and patient care strategies, and using patient feedback to help figure out those strategies, all appear to be valuable investments, as the money saved from lawsuits alone may improve the financial health of the company. With value coming on an employee satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and improved organizational health, there is considerable evidence that it may be worthwhile to spend money in support of these goals.

Another thing this puts into perspective is the importance of finding and maintaining exceptional employees. Yet it can be difficult for jobs in healthcare to spot the employees that truly stand out, since mistakes tend to go unreported and patient care can be difficult to measure. So rather than focus on intangible qualities, management at these institutions should focus on the measurements they can take – employee satisfaction, patient satisfaction, knowledge of medical processes and so on – and use them to formulate opinions while continuing to work from a patient centered approach. Related Blog Part 1