Hospitals Keep Eye on Patient Satisfaction

Local hospital administrators are focusing on improving everything from catering menus to patient and staff communication since Medicare last year began paying them partly based on patient satisfaction scores under the health care overhaul.

While Medicare has been publishing patient satisfaction scores since 2008, it wasn’t until last year that the system began withholding 1 percent of its payments to eye hospitals. In the next few years, the federal government plans to double its withholding to 2 percent. That money goes into a pool and is distributed as bonuses to hospitals that score above the national average.

“It’s put patient satisfaction at the forefront,” said Derick Ziegler, administrator and CEO of Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis. “It has put more money at risk, and now hospitals have to earn those dollars.” Patient satisfaction scores determine about 30 percent of the bonuses, while the rest of the bonus is distributed based on meeting certain clinical measures. Continue Reading...