Case Studies: Improving Patient Satisfaction

Munson Medical Center: Constant Focus on Patient Satisfaction
Munson Medical Center is a 391-bed, nonprofit hospital located in Traverse City, Michigan. By focusing on patient satisfaction and engaging frontline staff in improving care, it has become one of the better large hospitals in the United States in terms of overall patient satisfaction, as measured by Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. The following strategies appear to contribute to the hospital's success: ongoing measurement and feedback; high nurse-to-patient ratios, greater nurse authority under the "shared governance" model; acuity-adaptable patient rooms; mandated quiet time and staff relaxation rooms; and shift-to-shift bedside reports.


Brigham and Women's Hospital: "Moving the Needle" Takes People, Processes, and Leadership
Brigham and Women's Hospital is a 777-bed nonprofit, teaching hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts. Scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey show that it is a leading hospital nationally on measures of patient satisfaction. Since 2002, the hospital has followed three strategies to improve patient satisfaction: allocating significant new funding for quality measurement and process improvement work, including establishing a Center for Clinical Excellence; developing a management information system for hospital leaders that tracks patient and family experiences, along with other hospital performance indicators; and seeking to enhance patients' experiences by working with frontline staff, including implementing new recruitment, training, management, and improvement strategies.


Duke University Hospital: Organizational and Tactical Strategies to Enhance Patient Satisfaction
Duke University Hospital is a 924-bed academic medical center in Durham, North Carolina. Scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey show that it is a leading hospital nationally on measures of patient satisfaction. Duke University Hospital leaders say that ensuring patient satisfaction requires both organizational and tactical strategies. Particular strategies include: commitment to improving customer service and work culture, and to leadership training; use of a Balanced Scorecard management tool; use of Six Sigma improvement methodology to address underperformance; and recognition of staff members and units demonstrating outstanding customer service.

Hutcheson Medical Center: Focusing on Personal Interactions
Hutcheson Medical Center is a 179-bed community hospital located in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, eight miles southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee. By focusing intently on patient–staff interactions and patients' needs, Hutcheson Medical Center has turned around its quality and financial indicators in the last two-and-a-half years. Scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey show that Hutcheson is now a leading hospital nationally on measures of patient satisfaction. Five components of the hospital's strategy may be behind their success: fostering a culture of customer service; empowering nurses through shared governance; collecting and tracking data to chart progress; visibility of leaders; and implementing evidence-based practice.