Hospital Implements New Patient Satisfaction Survey

St. Mary's Hospital is committed to developing a deeper understanding of customer expectations and measuring the quality of care and service received by patients. By measuring the patient experience throughout the continuum of care, we can identify ways to continually improve.

This summer, St. Mary's Hospital began working with a new survey research partner, NRC Picker. The new patient satisfaction surveys to be used will be conducted by phone rather than by mail and asks patients how often a certain aspect of care was performed using the scale: "Never," "Sometimes," "Usually " and "Always."

The inpatient survey includes the following seven themes:

1. Communication with Nurses
2. Communication with Physicians
3. Physical Environment
4. Responsiveness of Hospital Staff
5. Pain Control
6. Medication
7. Discharge Information

Two overall rating questions:

1. Overall Hospital Rating
2. Likeliness to Recommend

Each phone survey takes about six minutes. The goal is to call patients within seven to 10 days after discharge or encounter, so the experience is still fresh in their minds. The call will show up on an individual's caller ID as "Discovery Research."

The decision to survey patients by phone rather than by mail was made because a broader spectrum of patients can be reached by phone. Research has shown that young people and the low-income population were under-represented in mail surveys. In addition, phone surveys make provisions for the varying literacy levels within our service region. Using the phone approach means reaching many patients that may have been difficult to reach previously, ensuring that we learn about the needs of as many of our patients as possible.

A trained interviewer affiliated with our new survey research partner, NRC Picker, will conduct the patient experience phone interviews. NRC Picker is an independent, impartial, nationally recognized research firm.