Patient satisfaction: A feature of quality metrics within the inpatient healthcare system - A narrative review

Introduction:The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey reports patients' perceptions of hospital care. Analyzing results from HCAHPS surveys has been instrumental in assessing and improving patient perceptions of this care. The interactions primary care physicians have with patients in the hospital setting can have a direct impact on this score. While isolated studies have reviewed specific areas that may affect HCAHPS outcomes, we aimed to compile the existing literature from the past five years.Methods:EMBASE, PUBMED, and Ovid Medline were searched from each database from 2019 to 2023 to retrieve published data in English language articles addressing interventions to improve patient satisfaction. Main keywords in the manuscripts included: "Patient satisfaction," "HCAHPS," "intervention," "survey," "database," "communication," and "implementation."Results:We deduced seven important factors and interventions that affect HCAHPS scores: 1) Infection prevention protocols negatively impacted patient satisfaction. 2) Geographic allocation of patients did not significantly affect scores. 3) Physician-patient communication was critical in determining patient satisfaction. 4) Training programs, like the acknowledge, introduce, duration, explanation, and thank you approach led to substantial improvements. 5) Addressing language barriers positively impacted satisfaction rates for Limited English Proficient patients. 6) The influence of residents on patient satisfaction varied. 7) Age-related differences in patient care perceptions were observed, with older patients reporting fewer positive experiences, particularly in communication-related measures.Conclusions:Several different types of interventions have been beneficial in improving the patient satisfaction scores. Overall, further research is needed to provide further evidence for efficacy of these interventions.