DQ 5-1

DQ 5-1 responses

1. I personally agree with implementing reimbursement to health institutions based on customer satisfaction and positive outcome. Doing this would be a great incentive for health institutions to be proactive with their patient care. However, if the patient has a negative experience then the health insurance should reimburse the patient and cover the costs of their care. However, there have been some studies stating that reimbursement would cause negative effects. One study says that a patient having different beliefs than that of the physician who uses an evidence-based approach to treatment will result in a negative patient experience because of difference in beliefs (Berkowitz, 2016). Another study shows that doctors who are reimbursed according to patient satisfaction scores may be less inclined to talk patients out of treatments they request (Kenen, 2015). What that study is saying is that physicians will start to get lazy because they know they will be getting reimbursed but over time their level of care will decline which will eventually stop them from getting reimbursed. I think this reimbursement system should get implemented in the future because maybe then there will be more places that will elevate their quality of care.

 References

Berkowitz, B. (January 31, 2016) "The Patient Experience and Patient Satisfaction: Measurement of a Complex Dynamic" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 21, No. 1, Manuscript 1.

Kenen, J. (2015, May 06). The ACA and patient satisfaction: Does it improve care? Retrieved from Association of Health Care Journalists: https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2015/05/the-aca-and-patient-satisfaction-does-it-improve-care/

2. Many health plans are leaning away from the quantity of care to a more quality of care for patients. This means that doctors will be paid based off of the quality of care that they give their patients by the doctors educating the patient on how to care for themselves and lower the risk of remittance into hospitals, or prevent more serious health issues in the future (Hader, 2015, p. 270-271). This is a great way for doctors to pay more attention to their patients as a person and not as a number.

 

However, in my opinion I do not believe that patient satisfaction is something that a doctor should be paid for. This is simply because the doctor can do everything in their power to help that patient and the patient can still be unhappy with the care that they received. Hospitals and other facilities are using different methods to track patient satisfaction and this is being linked to different reimbursement methods such as Medi-Cal and Medicaid (Mehta, 2015, p. 616). This could have a huge impact on doctors simply not being paid because a patient decides to be stubborn.

 References:

Hader, A. L. (2015). Affordable care act: Turning reporting requirements into an effective strategy. AORN Journal, 101(2), 270-273. doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2014.11.005. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=103752234&site=eds-live&scope=site

 

Mehta, S. J. (2015, July). Patient satisfaction reporting and its implications for patient care. AMA Journal of Ethics, 17(7), 616-621. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2015/07/ecas3-1507.html

3. While doing research for the week 3’s paper, I came across The Governance Institute E-Briefings that mentioned that healthcare organizations will continue to focus on patient satisfaction because it will be tied to reimbursement in the future.  I thought this was an interesting prospect and believe it will be beneficial to many patients.  I think it is a good idea to tie reimbursement to patient satisfaction because it would ensure that patients are receiving the level of care that they deserve.  “Better and more frequent contact with the patient via social media, emails, patient portals, and follow-up phone calls will all matter more as provider compensation gets increasingly tied to patient satisfaction scores” (Valentine & Masters, 2017).  However, there are some people that are going to be dissatisfied even if they are receiving a high level of care, which may effect the reimbursement process.  If providers focus on the area of patient satisfaction, as well as monitor and measure health outcomes, it would significantly improve the quality of health care delivery.   

 Reference:

Valentine, Steven T. & Masters, Guy M. (2017). E-Briefings, Volume 14, No. 1. The Governance Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.governanceinstitute.com/page/EBriefings_V14No1#hide1

4. I do agree that reimbursement should be based on customer satisfaction, it can encourge medical staff to offer better service. However, I still think that the medical staff should perform at their best with their patients no matter on the reimbursement. According to the article Creating a Culture of Patient Satisfaction, "Medicare's tying reimbursement to patient satisfaction scores (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HCAHPS, and pay for performance) is having real consequences for hospitals" (Siedman, 2017). When patient aren't satisfy with the care provided, most likely patients will not come back. This will affect the medical facility financially.  As mention in AMA Journal of Ethics, patient satisfaction is important to physicians, becuase it reflects doctor-patient relationship and holistics aspects of healing and emotional well-being. When there is a good doctor  patient relationship, patients satisfactory is good due to feeling better physically and emotionally. 

 

Reference

Seidam, William, Creating a Culture of Patient Satisfaction. March, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.hhnmag.com/articles/5794-creating-a-culture-of-patient-satisfaction

 Mehta, Shivan, AMA Journal of Ethics, Patient Satisfaction Reporting and its Implications for Patient care, 2015. Retrieved from; http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2015/07/ecas3-1507.html

5. I had a hard time finding much that talked about the loss or gain percentage. Most of the information I found was related to how much the surveys cost and how they would be conducted. I also found the benefits of patient satisfaction surveys, that talked about the fact that they are more of an incentive for physicians to perform at a high quality (Jordan, White, Joseph, & Carr, 2005). I did find one article that said there was only a 1% loss or gain from such surveys on physician’s wages in the year of 2015 and that is was expected to rise to 2% by 2017, and that $1 billion in payments to health facilities would be based off of these surveys in the upcoming years (KeyBridge, 2013). This will greatly impact hospitals and I am sure that it is an incentive to treat their patients with the upmost care, so that they can have high scores.

 References:

Jordan, H., White, A., Joseph, C., & Carr, D. (2005, October). Costs and benefits of HCAHPS. In cms.gov. Retrieved November 29, 2017, from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment- Instruments/HospitalQualityInits/Downloads/HCAHPSCostsBenefits200512.pdf

KeyBridge. (2013, August 1). Patient satisfaction and the affordable care act. In KeyBridge. Retrieved November 29, 2017, from http://www.keybridgemed.com/revenue-cycle-minute/patient-satisfaction-and-the-affordable-care-act/