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Insurance companies and Medicare are struggling to come up with ways to reduce costs while still leaving the insured with a decent quality of care, but it's not easy. With hospitals now receiving quality ratings from many insurance companies, what the patient actually experiences is becoming more and more important because bad customer ratings will result in reduced payments. The Wall Street Journal wrote an uplifting story about a woman checking in for a bone marrow transplant who was surprised to receive a hug from the receptionist, followed by a menu of healing services which included music, reflexology and massage therapy. Although it's a wonderful enhanced experience for the consumer, behind the scenes there is an ulterior motive. Management is trying to boost customer satisfaction ratings as these have become an increasingly important factor in how hospitals get reimbursed. Medicare will start doing what a number of insurance companies are already doing starting in 2012. It plans to withhold 1% of payments ($850 mil.) and make sure hospitals have improved quality of care while reducing costs before they get paid. Although 1% isn't a huge amount, this will increase over time. Hospitals will be able to receive the withheld payment and even get bonuses if they score high on patient-satisfaction surveys known as the HCAHPS. Click here to see the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Services. A random sample of adult patients will receive the survey after discharge which will ask them to rate the facility on cleanliness, quiet, and whether doctors and nurses listened to patient concerns and explained medications as well as gauging their overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the hospital to friends and family. Hospitals currently send out the survey but as of yet, they haven't impacted hospitals financially. Recent results show that 67% of patients discharged give their hospitals the top two ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 and 58% said hospitals provided a quiet environment. Only 60% said doctors and nurses always communicated well about medications. It's about time someone started paying real attention to these surveys. On many occasions Family inHome Caregiving has been hired to take care of a senior recently discharged from the hospital, only to find out that they weren't clear on the exact purpose for certain medications. Some are also confused about whether they are supposed to discontinue some medications they had prior to going into the hospital. Although hospitals do give written instructions on discharge, many seniors don't have friends and family to help guide them through the difficult recovery process. With poor eyesight, weakness after being in the hospital and a general grogginess, it's often hard for them to determine the proper prescription medications to take. It's great to hear that hospitals will be intently listening to hear how the seniors themselves felt about the hospital experience.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,the_informed_patient,00.html
About Richard Kuehn & Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey:
After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog
About the Author
About Richard Kuehn & Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey:
After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to the elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog
Richard Kuehn
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