Press Ganey (office, health care, money)

[pmg780]

Is Press Ganey effective? Or is it making health care providers bow to patients by running too many tests, over prescribing? And how do doctors receive their scores? Do doctors have reviews where these scores are brought up?

[villageidiot1]

Press Ganey's business is conducting patient satisfaction surveys. Hospitals like them because press Ganey allows the hospital to manipulate the results to make themselves look good. I'm a former hospital executive and I can tell you that at the hospitals where I worked, the number one objective of the patient satisfaction survey was to use it to advertise to to the board and the public that the hospital, and especially the CEO, was doing a great job.

I would tend not to agree that Press Ganey satisfaction surveys are making health care providers bow to patients by running too many tests or over prescribing.

Doctors scores depend on whether they work for a practice that is owned by a hospital or health system. The health system is most interested in whether the physician practice is making money and referring enough business to the hospital. Patient satisfaction is looked at but is secondary to profitability.

[rmkiefer07]

Originally Posted by villageidiot1

Press Ganey's business is conducting patient satisfaction surveys. Hospitals like them because press Ganey allows the hospital to manipulate the results to make themselves look good. I'm a former hospital executive and I can tell you that at the hospitals where I worked, the number one objective of the patient satisfaction survey was to use it to advertise to to the board and the public that the hospital, and especially the CEO, was doing a great job.

I would tend not to agree that Press Ganey satisfaction surveys are making health care providers bow to patients by running too many tests or over prescribing.

Doctors scores depend on whether they work for a practice that is owned by a hospital or health system. The health system is most interested in whether the physician practice is making money and referring enough business to the hospital. Patient satisfaction is looked at but is secondary to profitability.

Couldn't resist replying to this gem

I work for a billing office at a hospital in Seattle and can say that Press Ganey also conducts staff satisfaction scores. Couple of observations:

-Scoring is based on a five point scale with Always at one end and Never at the other.
-Managers are pressured to ensure everyone takes the survey, even offering parties to the groups that
meet 100% participation.
-Employees either pressured or "encouraged" will generally give neutral answers to most questions in an
attempt to complete the survey. No real thought goes into the questions asked.
-The questions are usually worded in ways that leave a lot to interpretation. When we drill down into the
answers, we find that employees were either confused by the questions or just through indifference
gave neutral answers.

I don't have direct patient contact so I'm not familiar with the patient survey. However, considering how weak the staff survey is, it would not surprise me at all that the patient data would be woefully lacking. I think Press Ganey and other like firms are the only ones getting any real value pushing these surveys. In value, I mean $$.