TRENDS
A leading consumer publication analyzed federal government patient satisfaction data and determined that patients prefer the quality of care received at physician-owned and operated hospitals, supporting previous independent studies including federal government data available at the CMS Hospital Compare Web site, which can be located at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.
According to the publication, patients were asked about:
- Communication with their nurses
- Communication with their doctors
- Responsiveness from the hospital staff
- Pain management
- Communication by staff regarding medication received
- Discharge information provided to them
- The cleanliness of the rooms including the bathroom facilities
- Noise throughout the night
- The likelihood of the patient referring the hospital to family and friends
- Their overall rating of the hospital
Physician-owned hospitals were ranked first in 19 states, roughly two-thirds of the states that have physician-owned hospitals. The following are some of the results:
- Arkansas – the top 2 are physician-owned hospitals; 4 of the top 7 are physician-owned hospitals
- Arizona – the top 1 is a physician-owned hospital; 4 of the top 5 are physician-owned hospitals
- California – the top 2 are physician-owned hospitals
- Idaho – the top 2 are physician-owned hospitals; 3 of the top 4 are physician-owned hospitals
- Indiana – the top 2 are physician-owned hospitals; 4 of the top 5 are physician-owned hospitals
- Kansas – the top 5 are physician-owned hospitals; 10 of the top 13 are physician-owned hospitals
- Louisiana – the top 9 hospitals are all physician-owned hospitals
- Montana – the top 1 is a physician-owned hospital, 2 of the top 4 are physician-owned hospitals
- Oklahoma – the top 1 is a physician-owned hospital, 8 of the top 10 are physician-owned hospitals
- South Dakota – 5 of the top 6 are physician-owned hospitals
- Texas – the top 3 are physician-owned hospitals, 16 of the top 26 are physician-owned hospitals
Some of the Nueterra hospitals rated and their overall patient ratings are as follows:
- Manhattan Surgical Hospital in Manhattan, Kansas – ranked 2nd in the state of Kansas at 92%
- Great Bend Regional Hospital in Great Bend, Kansas – ranked 2nd in the state of Kansas at 92%
- Ouachita Surgical Hospital in West Monroe, Louisiana – ranked 5th in the state of Louisiana at 90%
- Houston Physicians Hospital in Webster, Texas – ranked 15th in the state of Texas at 84%
Sherri Filipczuk, marketing brand manager, Nueterra Healthcare