Patient Expectations in Hospitals Matter

The healthcare industry is becoming more consumer-driven and the growing population of health-conscious consumers is shifting the way hospitals work. Patient expectations are changing and this movement is pressuring healthcare organizations to re-evaluate their operations to better suit the needs of today's modern patient. Ever since the 2008 introduction of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, consumers have the ability to review and report patient satisfaction data that will provide valid comparisons of hospitals around the country.

Since HCAHPS' emergence, a 32-item survey is filled out and those scores and answers are available for display, giving consumers a first-hand look at how well patients are treated. From things like communication to how fast their experience was, the survey gives a detailed perspective of what others could expect. A patient's perception of care depends on their own observations of how well hospital employees work with each other, their performance and their commitment to quality care. Those hospitals who had highly engaged, team-oriented employees received high scores so it's not a surprise that the more motivated and enthusiastic hospitals rank better than others.

However, there are many reasons why other hospitals scored lower and one of them may be the lack of patient attention. This may not be due to negligence, but it could be due to outdated hospital workflows and processes that take precious time away for things like paperwork. To increase patient attention which will in turn, increase HCAHPS scores, hospitals need to invest in workflow automation software, print management systems and paperless, electronic documents.

Essentially, those above systems and updates will bring hospitals up to speed to meet the demands of the 21^st century. Too much time is spent on administrative activities like paperwork and document filing that those hospital employees could devote the time to the patient. Not only will it increase time spent with a patient, but it will also reduce costs because a significant amount of paper will no longer be needed. The data found in HCAHPS surveys can negatively impact patient expectations if the scores are bad and in order for hospitals to remain competitive, changes need to be made.

Making Positive Gains In The Healthcare Industry

The numbers are in and 2014 fared well for the healthcare industry as it added over 300,000 jobs according to an article in Forbes. It should also be noted that the US unemployment rate is down to the lowest rate it has been in 6.5 years, which can call for 2015 to be promising! The report shows more than a 50 percent increase in job growth in the healthcare industry when comparing the numbers from 2013. As employment rises in the healthcare industry, health-conscious consumers could expect better hospital performance as more people are now being staffed to accommodate more health-related needs.

A reason for the employment increase suggests that the Affordable Care Act had a significant part in its positive gains because more people were able to become insured, meaning more people were seeking medical treatment since they had coverage. As more staff started to serve newly insured patients, it would be without a doubt that hospital expenses may be on the rise in terms of paper documents, administrative duties and other workflow operations. With this being said, hospitals could continue to show work efficiencies by implementing new ways to handle documents.

By switching hospital forms to electronic forms, they could save an enormous amount of money when it comes to ordering paper. This in turn, also reduces the environmental impact that hospitals produce because it saves a large amount of resources that are needed to form paper. Keeping up with the increased demand of patient visits due more being insured, digital hospital forms can improve workflows and make for better operations. In fact, the number of uninsured Americans is at a historically low rate!

But don’t think electronic hospital forms are only for those traditional hospitals – a rise in urgent care clinics around the country could also benefit from electronic forms to lower their operating costs. These smaller clinics could benefit from technology that simplifies forms and makes them more readily available with on-demand access. While 2014 was a positive year for job growth in the healthcare industry, it only makes sense to find solutions that can complement the growth.