Three nursing interventions' impact on HCAHPS scores.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Experience Research
• Quality Improvement Science

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a key metric in healthcare quality.
• Surgical units face unique challenges in delivering satisfactory patient care.
• Existing patient satisfaction scores required improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of three specific interventions on patient satisfaction in a surgical unit.
• To assess the effectiveness of nurse manager rounding, postdischarge phone follow-up, and improved discharge teaching.
• To identify strategies for enhancing patient care ratings.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement study was conducted on a 28-bed surgical unit.
• Three interventions were implemented: nurse manager rounding, postdischarge phone follow-up, and enhanced discharge teaching.
• Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey scores were tracked over 18 months.

Main Results:

• A steady upward trend in HCAHPS survey scores was observed following intervention implementation.
• The combined effect of the interventions led to measurable improvements in patient satisfaction.
• Sustained positive results were noted over the 18-month study period.

Conclusions:

• Nurse manager rounding, postdischarge follow-up, and improved discharge teaching are effective interventions for enhancing patient satisfaction.
• These quality improvement strategies can lead to significant and sustained increases in patient care ratings.
• The study demonstrates a successful model for improving patient experience on surgical units.