patient satisfaction scores

Specialties PACU

Published

As Satan ( A.K.A) Press Ganey knocks on our doors we are looking for ways to improve our patient satisfaction scores.

One of the things that was suggested and I think is an excellent idea is for every outpatient surgery patient to receive a thank you card, hand signed by every person who helped to take care of them. I know it sounds like just one more thing to do, but I really think that patients would appreciate that.

On the topic of patient satifaction what are some of the things you guys do to increase patient satisfaction. Our scores are horrible!! I do feel like we do a good job though, and everyone is being pushed to the max but we are still bottom of the barrell. Not all of our patient's get Xanax because its PRN and the stupid same day nurses always ask " would you like a xanax"? Whereas I say "heres the medicine the doctor ordered it wont make you loopy or sleepy just help you relax".

How do you guys give information about delays to the patients? Sometimes we are so short staffed we barely have time to think and the OR ends up on hold. Some people find it not feasible to update family thoroughly.

Specializes in MICU, SICU, CICU.

If the root cause is inadequate staffing, the solution is more staff.

I don't think it is a good idea to give a po med in pre-op or in level one recovery from general anesthesia.

The right volunteer in the family waiting area can be an immense help in relaying information to the family.

Amenities in the ambulatory discharge area like coffee, tea, cold bottled water, juice and ginger ale are appreciated.

The ASU nurses should call the next morning to check in with the pt and ask if they have any questions.

It would be good to ask were you satisfied with our services and do you have any suggestions on how we can improve.

iluvivt, BSN, RN

2,774 Posts

Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.

I have to say that I do not think patients want all the unnecessary fluff. What they do want is good nursing and medical care! Why should you waste your time running about trying to get signatures after the fact when you have current patients in front of you whose needs deserve to be met. I would take a survey of the patients that agree to answer a few questions before their surgeries and find out what is important to them. I have had a lot of outpatient surgeries and I can tell you from experience what would make me happy. You also need to find and look at the survey questions that your score is based on so you know exactly what you are aiming to fix!

1. Staff to be aware that many patients and their loved ones are frightened..surgery is scary..you worry about the anesthesia and being out of control and in pain......Reassure the patient with information and be empathetic and kind

2 Keep them comfortable before the surgery as much as possible. It is often cold in these areas

3 Offer as much privacy as possible.

4. Explain all procedures such as need for blood draws and IV starts and why you gather certain information

5. Tell patients up front that they will be notified if their is a delay and that often a surgery takes longer than anticipated. when it is their turn they too will be given as much time as needed.

6. Explain the plan for pain and nausea control when they are out of surgery. Being left in pain is a big fear for many patients.

7 Explain what they can expect when surgery is over..whatever that may be...if they will wake up wrapped up in a blanket warmer... will feel a a bandage....etc

8. Make discharge easier. Have any Rxs ready to go with the important teaching points....follow up appts...etc.

For me I want the service I went for....no card...no carnation..no gift.....just good nursing and medical care

toomuchbaloney

12,694 Posts

Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

Why would you give your patients a card signed by the staff? What are you thanking them for?

emain86

26 Posts

Why would you give your patients a card signed by the staff? What are you thanking them for?

For the same reason you send a thank you card after a job interview? To achieve a goal, to look good, to make them think good things about you.

Something like " thank you for choosing ___ it was our pleasure to take care of you and we wish you a speedy recovery"

studies have shown that people who send thank you cards get more positive feedback. When my dad was a car sales person he had me type out this data base and we mailed out christmas cards to everyone who ever leased a car from him because it helps to put an idea in people's heads.

To the person who talked about fluff, patient satisfaction is as one co-worker described it a mystique. It's all fluff.. or a lot of it. At the end of the day I tell people fake it until you make it because you only have to deal with surgical patient's & and their families for a 12 hour day.

However, that list of 8 things is a good list that people should be doing strictly based on common sense. I guess the question is how are we going to get all those points across in a scripted manor.

TeleRN44

59 Posts

Specializes in ICU/ER.

More staffing sounds like a simple solution but not every facility, especially considering the ever growing culture of doing more with less...to include people, is going to jump at the idea of hiring more staff because it means spending more money.

The things I've seen, both as a nurse and as a patient, that I really liked and that seemed to work are as follows:

1) A designated liaison who regularly interacts with the patient's family, friends, caregivers (yes...HIPAA, HIPAA, HIPAA LOL) to keep them in the loop whether the surgery is one hour or significantly longer. They introduce themselves as the patient arrives and checks in. Later, they let those waiting know how the surgery is going, whether or not there are delays and later, when the patient has been transferred to recovery. This generally decreases anxiety all around while additionally keeping those pesky micromanaging loved ones from crawling up someone's sphincter like a suppository because they've been regularly informed and involved in the process. As a veteran of 15 surgeries and three of those surgeries over a five week period this summer? This was much appreciated for my family while they waited.

2) Thank you cards count! When I worked tele this was something our floor excelled at doing for our patients. It literally took less than 30 seconds to write your name and maybe a quick note like "Get Well Soon!!" in a Thank You card. It doesn't have to be everyone...that would be pointless. If you were directly involved in the patient's care...sign the card. We had tons of patient and family feedback...letters, phone calls to people whose opinions mattered. Those cards were important to our now discharged patients and families because they couldn't remember our names but they remembered our kind words, how gentle we had been with them and with their families when they hadn't been at their best and they had been scared. The cards were attached to the front of patient's chart and each nurse signed when the chart passed through their hands. Oh yeah, what are you thanking them for?? Their business, of course!! Even if you live in a town where your hospital is the ONLY hospital for hundreds of miles around...you're thanking them for their business....which is the whole stinking downside of the dang Press Ganey survey. No love...no $$$.

3) Surveys are good...but before surgery is bad. Honestly, before surgery I was in pain...all I wanted was to get into the OR and get under...that or projectile vomit like the little girl from "The Exorcist". If someone had approached me with any survey questions after being questioned about the 693 other things I'd had to answer just to HAVE the dang surgery? I don't know if I might have said nice things about the smart, wonderful and friendly nurses who provided me with compassionate care while I lay there feeling miserable. But I know I told the nurse who asked me about my care the next day during my follow up call! She asked all sorts of survey questions regarding management of my care/pain/nausea, did my family/friends receive updates, if there were delays...were they explained to me and so on and so forth. In fact, I had experienced a delay for the second surgery...completely unavoidable, they APOLOGIZED! The hospital apologized, the surgeon and his office apologized...said my time was valuable. I was stunned...mainly because I'd never heard that happen before and I guess maybe should. I was quite appreciative.

4) Explain the plan for pain and nausea before surgery. Post-anesthesia, patients are loopier than a roller coasters at Six Flags. What they'll remember or comprehend is debatable as they're busy trying to clear the anesthesia out of their system. I have first hand experience with this one too. LOL

Just my two cents...

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