Patient Satisfaction Metrics

Abstract

Patient satisfaction has been studied and measured in earnest since the 1980s. Metrics were refined over time as our understanding of patient desires has grown. Current surveys focus on the process of care rather than the outcome of the medical service and may be more appropriately referred to as surveys of patient experience. The patient experience is an important measure of medical care quality, and therefore, patient experience metrics have become as important as other measures of clinical quality such as infection rate and annual screening tests. While patient experience metrics focus on the patient’s assessment of various components of care from points of access to other touch points, patients may encounter along the continuum of care, a more consumer-centric approach would consider the overall patient experience as the best endpoint. The distinction between patient satisfaction, as determined by a defined set of quantifiable metrics, and the patient experience, which includes other determinants that are sometimes outside the immediate control of the healthcare provider, is important and will be addressed in this chapter. This chapter explores the many reasons why patient experience metrics are important, reviews the most common inpatient and outpatient metrics used in the United States, and addresses some of the shortcomings associated with following and managing patient experience metrics.