Studies find patient ratings useful for both patients and health care workers

A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at the associations between Web-based patient ratings and objective measures of hospital quality.  This study found that positive recommendations of hospitals were significantly associated with lower hospital standardized mortality ratios, lower mortality from high-risk conditions, and lower readmission rates. Positive recommendations were not associated with mortality rates among surgical inpatients with serious treatable complications or mortality from low-risk conditions. Conclusions from the study suggest that discretionary patient ratings, obtained through a Web site, may be a more useful tool than previously considered for both patients and health care workers. Previously blogged here, another report by HealthGrades on patient safety and satisfaction rates in hospitals across the United States found that hospitals with the highest patient ratings in physician and nursing communications on average have fewer patient safety events.

Related posts:

• Associations Between Web-Based Patient Ratings and Objective Measures of Hospital Quality, Archives of Internal Medicine
• New patients’ ratings ‘to improve NHS care’

• Report finds hospitals with better patient-provider communication have better patient safety and satisfaction rates