Empowered patients more satisfied
September 1, 1999 less than 1 minute read
Empowered patients more satisfied
Today’s patients want to know their rights and what to expect, according to a study by Press, Ganey Associates Inc., the South Bend, IN-based satisfaction measurement firm.
The firm compiled data from 250,000 patients in 476 hospitals that indicate a strong relationship between empowering patients and their satisfaction with the delivery of care. An average of 525 patients per hospital completed the surveys, which addressed whether the hospital took the initiative to inform patients of their rights.
"In most states, the Patient Bill of Rights currently in place is voluntary," states Irwin Press, PhD, president of Press, Ganey. "It is not law, which means health care organizations can choose to utilize them or ignore them. What we know, though, is that successful organizations will understand that consumerism is becoming a dominant driver of change in health care as we enter the new millennium."
The Patient Bill of Rights, developed in 1973 by the American Hospital Association, is based on the premise that a personal relationship between the physician and the patient is essential for quality medical care. Some rights include consideration and respectful care, understandable information regarding the patient diagnosis, the ability to make decisions about the specific care plan, and privacy and confidentiality.
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