Service and hospitality soon to hold fiscal import

By Ira Zunin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 03, 2011

~~<p>It's official. Customer satisfaction scores have become serious business in health care. Beginning in October 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will link $850 million of reimbursement payments to a new measure: patient survey results. The questions focus on dimensions of the overall experience that haven't been front and center in the minds of some caregivers until now. Bedside manner was always part of being a good and caring physician. Soon it will directly affect the bottom line.</p>
<p>Starting next year, the satisfaction stakes will go up significantly in the health care industry, and providers across the country are gearing up to shift their sights to questions like, "Did you receive information on what to do after leaving the hospital?" and "Did your doctors and nurses communicate well?" and "Did you receive help on a timely basis?" Some hospitals are hiring coaches to work with providers and staff to optimize clear and kind communication and to help provide patients with the kind of care and service they hope to receive.</p>
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It's official. Customer satisfaction scores have become serious business in health care. Beginning in October 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will link $850 million of reimbursement payments to a new measure: patient survey results. The questions focus on dimensions of the overall experience that haven't been front and center in the minds of some caregivers until now. Bedside manner was always part of being a good and caring physician. Soon it will directly affect the bottom line.

Starting next year, the satisfaction stakes will go up significantly in the health care industry, and providers across the country are gearing up to shift their sights to questions like, "Did you receive information on what to do after leaving the hospital?" and "Did your doctors and nurses communicate well?" and "Did you receive help on a timely basis?" Some hospitals are hiring coaches to work with providers and staff to optimize clear and kind communication and to help provide patients with the kind of care and service they hope to receive. Login for more...