Healthcare organizations must demonstrate their ability to work effectively with their customers to ensure that quality of care is of the highest possible level and that performance measures are in place to evaluate these activities to promote greater accountability and strength in their actions (Spath, 2013). Most importantly, wait times, the number of patients seen within a specific period of time, average length of stay, and billing errors are some of the most important criteria to consider in evaluating healthcare organizations’ level of performance because these efforts impact decision-making and direct patient care in ways that could mean the difference between life and death (Spath, 2013). It is imperative that organizations are prepared to multitask, employ experienced personnel, and adopt efficient strategies that will support the development of programs to accommodate patients and influence positive decision-making to improve quality of patient care. A comparison of hospitals who offer similar services within a defined area is an important exercise in understanding how hospitals differ in regards to performance and how to address some of the limitations that they possess in different areas.
Main Body
Three hospitals within a 100-mile radius of Greensboro, NC were selected for this discussion, noted as follows: Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC; FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, NC; and North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. These organizations possess different strengths and weaknesses; therefore, their performance is strong in some specialty areas and weaker in others. The following measures were considered for further analysis:
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Process of care measures: At Duke University, the average time spent in the emergency department is 288 minutes; 132 minutes at FirstHealth; and 168 minutes at North Carolina Baptist (Medicare.gov, 2017). In addition, patients who received recommendations for follow-up screenings after a colonoscopy was 88 percent at Duke; 100 percent at FirstHealth; and 92 percent at North Carolina Baptist (Medicare.gov, 2017). Duke possesses the highest amount of time spent in the emergency department and the lowest amount of recommendations after colonoscopies, due in large part to the number of patients who are seen at the facility on an annual basis.
Outcome of care measures: For patients with surgical site infections after having colon surgery, Duke performed better than the national benchmark; FirstHealth was no different than the national benchmark; and North Carolina Baptist was worse than the national benchmark, thereby indicating that Duke is perhaps the strongest with respect to prevention of surgical site infections (Medicare.gov, 2017).
Patients’ hospital experiences: Patients who always received help as needed in a timely manner was 61 percent at Duke; 74 percent at FirstHealth; and 61 percent at North Carolina Baptist, while 85 percent at Duke would recommend the hospital; 83 percent at FirstHealth; and 81 percent at North Carolina Baptist (Medicare.gov, 2017). Therefore, visitors to Duke are more likely to be satisfied with their experiences relative to lower satisfaction rates at the other hospitals.
As a consumer, I would consider using this website to obtain important data regarding local hospitals because it may provide insight regarding their practices and if patients are satisfied with the care that they receive. I am not aware of any family or friends who have used this website; however, I would discuss it with them if they need medical care within their communities because it will shed some light regarding the care that they might receive. It is important to gauge performance through patient experience surveys, as they provide feedback regarding how the organization is managing its patients and if quality of care is at optimal levels (Price et.al, 2014).
Conclusion
The use of the Medicare Hospital Compare website to evaluate different organizations may be an effective tool to improve decision-making. This requires knowledge of the website and its functionality to ensure that users obtain the necessary information in a timely manner. Furthermore, this will provide consumers with an opportunity to determine which organizations possess high performance standards versus those which require additional effort to accomplish these objectives. Data regarding performance is a critical factor in making improvements that will impact patient care quality and that will minimize additional health risks for patients, along with expanding the knowledge, expertise, and capabilities of the organization at a high level to meet the necessary objectives.
- Medicare.gov (2017). Hospital compare. Retrieved from
https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html
- Price, R. A., Elliott, M. N., Zaslavsky, A. M., Hays, R. D., Lehrman, W. G., Rybowski, L., … & Cleary, P. D. (2014). Examining the role of patient experience surveys in measuring health care quality. Medical Care Research and Review, 71(5), 522-554.
- Spath, P. (2013). Introduction to Healthcare Quality Management, 2nd Edition. Chicago: Health Administration Press.
