Patient Satisfaction Tied to Readiness to Leave Hospital

Although the clinical value of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) has been debated, a close study of one PRO has deemed it a clinically valuable measure, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

The study examined the association of readiness for discharge from the hospital with patient satisfaction and readmission. The researchers used post-discharge surveys for 220 patients admitted for small bowel obstruction and 98 patients with hospitals stays of 21 days or longer. The created 2 groups: those who said they felt ready for discharge and those with lesser degrees of readiness.

The 30-day readmission rate was 14.3% and 55% indicated they were ready for discharge. Overall, the 2 groups had similar demographics, comorbidity scores, and rates of surgery. However, the investigators found that those ready for discharge had higher overall hospital satisfaction, higher physician communication scores, and higher nursing communication scores. Notably, readmission rates were similar between the groups.

“Readiness for discharge appears to be a clinically useful patient-reported metric, as those [ready for discharge] have higher satisfaction with the hospital and physicians,” the authors concluded.