Empathy: Why patients recommend hospitals
In a new study involving 545 hospitals and more than one million patients in 44 states, Press, Ganey Associates in South Bend, IN, has identified the top issues most closely correlated with a patient’s likelihood to recommend a hospital. At the root of all, "patients care more about what’s done to them and what’s told to them than other aspects of their stay," says Irwin Press, PhD, co-director of Press, Ganey. (See chart, below.)
"The results clearly and emphatically show that interpersonal issues such as attitude, interactive skills, and caring behavior dominate the factors most closely associated with a patient’s overall satisfaction with a hospital and the likelihood of recommending it to others," he says.
Treat the person, not just the disease
The study included responses from 1,007,612 patient surveys from December 1995 to November 1996. An average of 1,850 patients per hospital completed the surveys, which included 49 standard questions covering such areas as admissions, nursing staff, physicians, tests/treatments, dietary, room/accommodations, and family/friends.
The data confirm the necessity for management to instill an atmosphere of empathy among hospital employees. Simply treating the physical manifestation of disease is not enough; staff must understand the entire range of socio-emotional responses that accompany the physical problems, Press says.
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