Where are you more likely to be satisfied with medical care? (a) At a large medical school hospital offering the most advanced technology and the most knowledgeable physicians, or (b) at a small hospital in a small city?
If you answered "b," go to the head of the class. When it comes to patient satisfaction, "high touch" wins over "high tech," and you're more likely to get personalized care in a small city hospital, says Notre Dame medical anthropologist Irwin Press.
Press takes care to distinguish between patient satisfaction and a positive medical outcome. "A person could be treated successfully medically and not be satisfied with the quality of care -- and the converse is true, too. Medical schools may have incredible equipment and incredible physicians, but they also have a lot of amateur nurses and amateur doctors. A patient in a teaching hospital is more likely to be treated as a specimen."
The professor of anthropology also is president of Press, Ganey Associates, the nation's leading research firm specializing in patient-satisfaction measurement. Begun 10 years ago by Press and Notre Dame associate professional specialist Rod Ganey, the firm has amassed a national patient-satisfaction data base from more than a million and a half surveys administered at more than 500 hospitals.
The quality of a hospital's nursing staff, Press found, is the most important variable affecting patient satisfaction. "Nurses are with patients 23-1/2 out of 24 hours a day," he says. "The more sensitive and attentive they are, the more likely a patient will be satisfied with her care."
The three issues that correlate highest with patient satisfaction are: that the staff recognize the inconvenience hospitalization causes; that the patient's privacy is upheld; and that adequate information is given regarding the patient's condition and treatment.
"We've found that patients are especially concerned about information in emergency rooms," Press says. "A patient needs to know what's going to happen at every step. Without information, anxiety builds."
The Notre Dame anthropologist says competitive pressures have caused hospitals to take their patients' concerns more seriously. "It makes good medical as well as business sense," he says. "Countless studies have shown that satisfied patients are more likely to heal faster and consequently leave the hospital more quickly."