ISSUE

Patient satisfaction can be defined as a patient’s perception of having their needs met. It is an important and commonly used indicator for measuring quality in healthcare facilities. Timely, efficient, patient-centered delivery of care is critical to quality and patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction can serve as an effective indicator to measure the success of doctors and hospitals.

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act turned a new pay-for-performance system into law. Hospitals’ reimbursement is now riding on performance in both clinical and patient experience arenas. According to rules from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), patient satisfaction will determine 30 percent of the incentive payments, while improved clinical outcomes will decide 70 percent.

Not only can patient satisfaction influence clinical outcomes and medical malpractice claims, but it can also influence whether or not a patient will return to a facility or recommend it to someone else. And full beds mean job security for healthcare leaders and the people who work in their facilities.

A leading customer service assessment company, Technical Assistance Research Programs Worldwide, conducted a survey to measure the possible financial impact dissatisfied customers could have on healthcare providers. The survey found that patient satisfaction could have a substantial financial impact. If 50 percent of the people with serious complaints went elsewhere when they needed medical services, it could mean a significant decrease in revenue. The survey estimated that half of these patients or their close family members would need hospitalization within the next 12-month period.

CHALLENGES

In the past, it was difficult to determine patient satisfaction. Today, patient satisfaction measurements are used by healthcare providers to obtain information to improve the quality of services, meet accreditation standards and regulatory requirements, and gain an edge in today’s competitive healthcare market. According to The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 19,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States, all healthcare providers must document patient complaints and their responses to them.

The Hospital Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey (HCAHPS) has been developed by CMS to collect information on patients' perspectives of the care they received while in the hospital. HCAHPS is the first national, standardized patient satisfaction survey that gathers information on patients' experiences to specifically address how often and how well their needs are met. In addition, many healthcare providers use other patient satisfaction surveys as well, such as Press Ganey.

Patient Satisfaction and PIVCs

Most hospital patient satisfaction surveys include at least one question about patients’ experience with IV therapy. In a study performed by the Royal College of Nursing, patients rated IV therapy as highly stressful and uncomfortable.

Insertion of a PIVC device is a procedure frequently undergone by hospital patients that can be painful and lead to stress and anxiety. Measures to improve IV patient satisfaction and alleviate stress when getting an IV, include making initial insertion as efficient as possible, minimizing unsightly blood spills, getting the IV placed with as few attempts as possible, and increasing patient comfort when the IV therapy device is in place.

Unscheduled PIVC restarts have been shown to be a source of patient dissatisfaction. A study using the Press Ganey hospital satisfaction survey, the largest satisfaction study ever conducted, indicated that unnecessary PIVC restarts can have a negative impact on hospital patient satisfaction scores. Restarts result in a delay in patient treatment, cause patient pain and dissatisfaction along with IV safety concerns, extra nursing time and additional costs.

SOLUTION

With IV therapy experiences contributing to overall patient satisfaction, hospitals are relying on innovative devices to help ease patient discomfort and the cost of PIVCs that deliver sub-optimal outcomes.

The NovaCathTM Integrated IV System is designed to address the complications and discomforts associated with PIVCs, including NSI prevention. NovaCath features advanced stabilization technology designed to:

• Improve patient comfort

• Reduce IV catheter restarts

• Extend dwell times

• Significantly reduce complications.

In addition, NovaCath has a design element that provides an internal 180-degree fluid path turn. This unique tubing management feature eliminates the need for an external “J-Loop,” which is needed to redirect IV fluids back toward the patient. Elimination of the external “J-Loop” minimizes potential complications associated with tubing snags and IV catheter dislodgements.

NovaCath is the only FDA 510(k) cleared Safety IV Catheter system and patent protected technology that uniquely offers Advanced Catheter Stabilization, Next Generation Tubing Management and Passive Needle Encapsulation. To view a demo video, click here.