In this competitive health care environment, consumers want and expect better health care services and hospital systems are concerned about maintaining their overall image.  There is also attention to ways in which patient satisfaction measurement can be integrated into an overall measure of clinical quality.

To begin, review the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (H.C.A.H.P.S.) available at (http://tinyurl.com/4272s7l).

Next, visit the Hospital Compare website (http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov), and follow these steps:

1.  Type in your zip code (11717)
2.  Ensure that “general search” is selected for the search type
3.  Click on the “Find Hospitals” button
4.  Select one of the hospitals by checking the box next to the hospital name and click on “Compare”
5.  Review the survey of patients’ hospital experiences

For the selected hospital, identify one satisfaction measurement criteria that you recommend for improvement.  In your opinion, how might this customer satisfaction factor relate to quality outcomes?  Provide a concrete example that supports your opinion.

Additionally, use the definitions of structural and process aspects of care from p.156 of your textbook to identify at least three barriers that exist in the health care setting that could have an impact on the customer satisfaction score you selected. Be sure to state at least one structural barrier and one process barrier and describe the barriers you identified.

Finally, review the quality improvement tools presented in Chapter 3 of your textbook.  Select a tool that a health care organization might use to study a process barrier related to the customer-satisfaction factor you identified.  Explain why you selected the tool and how it could be used.