The Pulse of Providence January February 2014 | Page 9

A Closer Look: Ensuring Excellent Patient Experiences
Why Do We Measure Patient Satisfaction?
We want to know what our patients think about their experience here at Providence. One of the best ways to
learn about our patient’s experiences is to listen. We use a survey process to gather valuable feedback on what
we do well and what we can improve on. By listening and responding to such feedback, we are able to improve
the care and services we provide. When our patients are satisfied with their Providence Experience, we’ve
developed a connection, allowing them to trust us for future healthcare needs, and also recommend our
services to family and friends. Click Here to read how Team Providence “listened” to help meet both physical
and emotional needs—making this patient’s experience an excellent one.

What is HCAHPS and What Does it Mean to Us?
Many hospitals have been using various surveys to internally collect patient satisfaction information to use
for improvement—but now, CMS (Centers for Medicaid and Medicare) has developed the HCAHPS (Hospital
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey. Until HCAHPS (pronounced “H-caps”),
there was not a national standardized way for collecting and publicly reporting information about patient
experience. To compare apples to apples, CMS developed standardized questions that allow patients and
other hospitals to see how the level of care we provide measures up nation-wide.
Furthermore, CMS has tied the performance results of the HCAHPS survey to reimbursement. How well we
perform determines how much money we receive from CMS for the services we provide to patients. If we do
well, this could result in an improvement of what we are paid by the government each year. Likewise, poor
performance ratings could result in a reduction of what we are paid. Receiving the highest amount of reimbursement
possible helps us to continue to provide excellent care to those who entrust their healthcare needs to us.

Tracking our Progress
Data collected from CMS can be tracked
and plotted on a graph to show us where
we’ve been, where we are and where we are
headed. The graph to the right illustrates
the HCAHPS Overall Rating Question which
asks patients to rate their perception on
their overall hospital experience. The blue
line represents our current performance
score and the green line represents the Texas
State Average. The red line represents our
Providence goal. The trend shows that we
are moving forward toward our goal, and
that we continuously remain higher than
the Texas State Average of hospitals. With
great team work and a strong focus on
service excellence, we will continue toward
achieving our goal of excellence.

*PHN performance reflects our most current overall rating.

Who is responsible for providing EXCELLENT patient experiences?
If you wear a Providence badge…..YOU are! From our doctors, nurses and volunteers, to all associates and
medical professionals who work in over 68 departments, clinics, and facilities across the network, the work that
we ALL do each and every day helps create the patient experience. What can you do to provide excellent
patient experiences? Click Here to read how Alice Adam, RN, BSN, learned that even seemingly small things,
like offering a root beer float, can help make a difference. Let’s continue to work together as Team Providence
to ensure that each experience is an excellent one!
The Pulse of Providence •

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