SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Correlating Patient Safety and Experience Among Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Participants

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This study examined whether hospital safety outcomes are related to patient experience scores among hospitals participating in the CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. The authors used CDC Healthcare-Associated Infections data as safety measures—CLABSI, CAUTI, C. difficile, and MRSA bacteremia—and compared them with five HCAHPS patient experience measures in the Person and Community Engagement domain: communication with nurses, communication with doctors, responsiveness of hospital staff, cleanliness and quietness, and overall hospital rating. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess cross-sectional relationships.<br /><br />Overall, the findings showed mostly weak correlations. CAUTI and C. difficile had slight positive associations with communication with nurses, communication with doctors, and responsiveness of hospital staff. For example, CAUTI correlated modestly with communication with nurses (r = 0.1135) and responsiveness (r = 0.1332), while C. difficile showed somewhat stronger positive correlations with these same measures. CLABSI had little to no meaningful association with patient experience scores. MRSA bacteremia was slightly negatively correlated with overall hospital rating (r = -0.1326). No safety measure showed a statistically significant correlation with cleanliness and quietness.<br /><br />The authors note that these positive correlations differ from some prior studies that found no significant relationship between safety and experience. They also highlight important limitations, especially missing data for more than half of hospitals in the HCAHPS survey, and the influence of other factors such as patient demographics, hospital characteristics, and market structure.<br /><br />In conclusion, the study suggests that hospital safety and patient experience may be related in subtle ways, but the relationships are weak and complex. Better understanding these connections may help improve both quality of care and patient experience in value-based hospital settings.

Asset Subtitle

Varsha Danda

Meta Tag

Author List Sri Lekha Tummalapalli, Varsha Danda

Category Research

Concept Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program

Concept Medicare Payment Adjustment

Concept Patient Safety Measure

Concept Patient Experience Measure

Concept Hospital Quality Metric

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Washington University in St. Louis

Presenting Author Varsha Danda

Track Patient Safety

Keywords

hospital safety

patient experience

HCAHPS

CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing

healthcare-associated infections

CLABSI

CAUTI

C. difficile

MRSA bacteremia

Pearson correlation

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program

Medicare Payment Adjustment

Patient Safety Measure

Patient Experience Measure

Hospital Quality Metric