Good patient experience is up 7 percent since January, despite the limited care access and strain COVID-19 has put on the medical industry, The Beryl Institute and Ipsos say.
Although patient access to primary care is down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, patient satisfaction with the quality of their care is up, according to new poll data from The Beryl Institute.
The PX Pulse poll conducted in partnership with Ipsos looked at patient experience of care during the first quarter of 2020, one that was defined by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
“COVID-19 is changing the way that Americans interact with the healthcare system, and the results are in,” Clifford Young, president of Public Affairs for Ipsos, said in a statement.
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“In the last two months since our previous PX Pulse, it’s clear that fewer Americans are visiting their doctors as many are forced to delay non-essential procedures and check-ups in light of the pandemic,” Young continued. “At the same time that fewer people are seeing their doctor, their perception of quality has risen dramatically. As the pandemic evolves, the PX Pulse will provide detailed analysis of the way patients feel about their personal healthcare experience and the system as a whole.”
The spread of COVID-19 has changed a lot in healthcare, with patient access to non-urgent healthcare — including primary care, in-person chronic disease management, preventive care, and elective surgeries — becoming restricted.
Those limitations are being seen in the survey data. Primary care visits are down 9 percent since the first PX Pulse, while hospital visits are down 4 percent, specialist visits are down 13 percent, lab visits are down 14 percent.
But nevertheless, the patient experience is improving. Since the first PX Pulse poll, patient satisfaction with overall care quality improved by 13 percent and satisfaction with their own care experiences improved by 7 percent.
This is notable considering the high marks these two areas already received in the January report, which took responses during the end of 2019.
The coronavirus outbreak has also sparked some shifts in patient priorities, although those were slight. While cost remained top-of-mind for most survey respondents — access to affordable health insurance, out-of-pocket costs, and cost of insurance premiums are still key priorities — patients are also turning their focus to coronavirus response.
Specifically, patients are valuing healthcare organization efforts to limit the spread of infectious disease, with 7 percent more patients prioritizing this than did in the January report. The number of patients valuing provider communication with family members or caregivers was up 6 percent while quality of hospital care increased by 5 percent.
This is unsurprising, considering the emergence of the coronavirus. Patients want to know what healthcare professionals are doing to quell the spread of COVID-19, while in the meantime want clear updates on their loved ones’ health if that loved one is in the hospital.
These findings underscore how important it is for patients to have a good healthcare experience, regardless of pandemic outbreak. However, these data also reveal that patient experience may not necessarily be defined by a luxurious hospital stay complete with in-room amenities, the way experience and satisfaction may have previously been discussed.
Gone are the days where the right television channels or good food were the mark of a good patient experience score. Instead, the data show that patients want to feel safe.
Patients want to know what providers are doing to stop the spread of infectious disease and how to treat illness. Interpersonal communication should focus on clear updates on family members’ health status, assuaging any concerns a loved one may have when they are unable to visit in the hospital.
These are all human elements that have long been essential to the patient-centered care puzzle, according to Jason Wolf, PhD, CPXP, the president and CEO of The Beryl Institute.
“With our capacity to explore the evolving trends regarding the healthcare experience via PX Pulse it has become evident as we move through this COVID-19 crisis globally that the essence of the human experience at the heart of healthcare has never been more important,” Wolf said in a statement. “As the data reveal, even in times of crisis, the way in which people are treated, how they are communicated with and the overall experience – quality, safety and service – they are provided is foundational to healthcare and continues to drive their choices, priorities and expectations. In fact, it may never be more important than today.”
Source: Patient Engagement Hit