Implications of HCAHPS in Health Care

Question: Describe about the Implications of HCAHPS in Health Care. Answer: Introduction: Patient perception metrics, like HCAHP surveys, are crucial in hospital and clinical settings, being linked with financial reimbursement for Medicare, as per the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Hospitals are rewarded or penalized on the basis of patient care experience, which involves health care quality, patient satisfaction, and doctor-patient relationship. Though, there are concerns about its efficacy, it is a valid indicator of quality care that improves patient experience ratings (Mehta, 2015). Merits of HCAHPS: The success of a hospital depends on the volume of patients, whose medical decisions are directly related to the word of mouth publicity and reputation. The HCAHPS helps the hospitals assess the patients comments, for improving the rating and patient satisfaction (Mehta, 2015). The performances of the Cleveland Clinic and similar organizations have proved that patient satisfaction is what matters in improving quality care (Siegrist, 2013). Demerits of HCAHPS: While quality metrics are evaluated on patient experience scores, sometimes high- value-care may fail in deriving desired patient satisfaction. If physicians are penalized for it, such situations would result in negative patient-physician outcomes (Mehta, 2015). The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has indirectly vouched this, by stating that the HCAHPS produces inequitable results in the lower socioeconomic patient groups (AAMC, 2011), and did not encompass all items that impact on the scores, placing many hospitals disadvantaged (Debra, 2012). Conclusion The effectiveness of HCAHPS has been questioned recently for its unintentional biases, as many prestigious hospitals, received poor patient reviews, despite their high quality metrics. Ironically, many hospitals received high patient ratings when their clinical quality was low. However, there are no other tools, currently, to evaluate patient satisfaction, which is the real measure of quality medical care. It is because, value in healthcare is delivering low cost, high quality patient friendly care (Guadagnino, 2012), and HCAHPS contribution in this regard cannot be underestimated. References Association of American Medical Colleges. (2011). AAMC Comments on Medicare Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program Proposed Rule. Retrieved 5 October, 2016 from https://www.aamc.org/advocacy/washhigh/highlights2011/179448/031111aamc_comments_on_medicare_hospital_value-based_purchasing.html Debra, Z. (2012). Using Patient Satisfaction as a Basis for Reimbursement: Political, Financial, and Philosophical Implications. Creative Nursing Vol. 18, No. 3 Retrieved 5 October, 2016 from https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-2744440231/using-patient-satisfaction-as-a-basis-for-reimbursement Guadagnino, C. (2012). Patient Satisfaction Critical to Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. The Hospitalist. Retrieved 5 October, 2016 from https://www.the-hospitalist.org/article/patient-satisfaction-critical-to-hospital-value-based-purchasing-program/2/ Mehta, S. J. (2015). Patient Satisfaction Reporting and Its Implications for Patient Care AMA Journal of Ethics, Volume 17, Number 7: 616-621. Retrieved 5 October 2016 from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2015/07/ecas3-1507.html Siegrist, R. B. (2013). Patient Satisfaction: History, Myths, and Misperceptions. HISTORY OF MEDICINE. Virtual Mentor, Volume 15, Number 11: 982-987. Retrieved 5 October 2016 from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2013/11/mhst1-1311.html