Healthcare benchmarks
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Healthcare benchmarks · Feb 1999
Examine your emergency department, stat! ED is key to hospital reputation.
Hospitals say meeting patient expectations in the emergency department (ED) is key to survival. The best indicator of patient satisfaction in the ED is waiting times, which seem to matter more to some patients than clinical expertise. Few national standards on emergency waiting times exist; your best bet for benchmarking is to identify better performers such as the hospitals in this special report.
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The Joint Commission's ORYX-PLUS option offers standardized measurement, risk adjustment, and reporting of outcomes not available in the less comprehensive ORYX program. This should create a wealth of truly comparable data against which to benchmark. ⋯ As ORYX-PLUS eventually will issue performance report cards to the public on participants, there are the risks associated with disclosure. On the other hand, participating hospitals will be able to boast participation in a voluntary disclosure program aimed at excellence.
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Some satisfaction issues are universal. Almost every industry surveys its customers on issues similar to those examined by health care. ⋯ There are viable partners in other industries to benchmark against. If your facility's surveys are always 100%, have a low response rate, or show problem areas, it's probably time to benchmark patient satisfaction.