Skip to main content

Patient Experience Scores for Hospital Care Decreased During COVID-19

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 1, 2023 -- During 2020 to 2021, there was a decrease in patient experience scores for hospital care, according to a study published online Aug. 25 in JAMA Health Forum.

Marc N. Elliott, Ph.D., from RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California, and colleagues compared 2020 to 2021 data to 2018 to 2019 data from 3,900,887 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) respondents discharged from 3,381 HCAHPS-participating U.S. hospitals. The primary outcome was an HCAHPS summary score (HCAHPS-SS) averaging 10 HCAHPS measures.

The researchers found that the HCAHPS-SS was 1.2 percentage points (pp) lower for quarter (Q) 2/2020 discharges, –1.9 to –2.0 pp for Q3/2020 and Q1/2021, and –3.6 pp for Q4/2021 compared with expected trends based on prepandemic data. Staff responsiveness and cleanliness were the most affected measures in Q4/2021 (–5.6 and –4.9 pp); discharge information and quietness were the least affected (–1.6 and –1.8 pp). Smaller-than-average decreases were seen initially in overall rating and hospital recommendation measures, but by Q2/2021, they decreased as much as the more specific experience measures. For hospitals with the lowest prepandemic staffing, the HCAHPS-SS fell most; hospitals with bottom- and top-quartile staffing showed the largest and smaller decrements, respectively. Consistently smaller HCAHPS-SS drops were seen for hospitals with better overall prepandemic quality; effects were about 25 percent smaller for five-star hospitals versus one- and two-star hospitals.

"Hospitals that were higher performing and higher staffed pre-pandemic were slower to decline, but by Q4/2021, scores for even these hospitals had declined," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted September 2023

Further Support and Information on COVID-19

Read this next

Higher COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Tied to Decrease in Childhood Asthma Symptoms

WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 -- Higher COVID-19 vaccination rates are associated with a lower prevalence of parent-reported childhood asthma symptoms, according to a research letter...

AI-Assisted Contours Superior to Cognitively Defined Prostate Cancer Contours

WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 -- Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted definition of prostate cancer contours reduces underestimation of the extent of prostate cancer, according to a...

Mean Cost of Bringing New Drug to U.S. Market Is $879.3 Million

TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- The mean cost of developing a new drug for the U.S. market is estimated to be $879.3 million when both drug development failure and capital costs are...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.