Steven Simon

Date of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (BS)

Advisor(s)

Falguni Sen

Abstract

Disproportionate healthcare costs in the United States have led to an effort by the government and private sector to focus on increasing healthcare efficiency through new legislation and novel initiatives that seek to combat the growing costs of healthcare while maintaining the quality of care. Among other factors, this has led the healthcare sector to increase focus on patient centered care. One method specifically is the implementation of patient satisfaction metrics in healthcare quality research and insurance reimbursements. Previous research has shown that healthcare provider satisfaction is positively correlated with patient satisfaction and better patient outcomes but many of these studies have limited external validity and the debate for the usage of patient satisfaction metrics in reimbursements continue today. In 2006 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a national standard for patient satisfaction in the form of a Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey with the first public reporting occurring in 2008. This paper intends to provide a summary of the research that has been conducted on the relationship between patient satisfaction and care metrics and to offer recommendations for the healthcare industry to improve the approach to how patient satisfaction metrics are utilized for both reimbursements and as a desired outcome in patient centered medicine. It is expected that patient satisfaction metrics will show a positive correlation with better outcomes in that they are a result of better outcomes, but do not cause better outcomes. For hospital administrators, focusing on patient satisfaction will allow healthcare employers to increase patient satisfaction which has been shown to positively impact healthcare provider satisfaction and will likely reduce inefficiency in healthcare.

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