The significant deterioration in the experiences of patients admitted to hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous years has been brought to attention by a recent study from the RAND Corporation.
The report reveals that the drop in performance was more pronounced in hospitals with lower staffing levels and lower performance prior to the pandemic. However, hospitals with better staffing arrangements and prior quality metrics were able to maintain their performance score for longer durations, despite incurring a decline eventually. Key contributors to deterioration were a worse response time by hospital staff and lack of cleanliness.
The study indicates that the performance drop might be a reflection of the staffing shortages and the safety protocols enforced to limit the spread of COVID-19. Despite the decline in patient experience being a nationwide issue, regional variations were relatively small. Comparative to the pre-pandemic time, hospitals that had better staffing and were higher in quality showed more resilience and had a slower decline in their performance score.
Unprecedented challenges imposed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic made it extremely difficult for acute-care hospitals to deliver services. These included fears of healthcare providers getting exposed to COVID-19 at workplaces and subsequently infecting family members, implementation of new protocols for social distancing, masking, and face shield usage, and restrictions on visitor access in adherence to the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control.
The study assessed the impact of these changes on patient experience by analyzing results of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey.
The HCAHPS survey is sponsored by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and is a widely accepted tool for gauging hospital quality for consumers. Data from over 9 million patients spread across 3,381 hospitals, from 2018 through 2021, was compiled and analyzed for this study.
As per the study, the account of patient experiences dropped by 3.6 percentage points by Q4 of 2021 across all the surveyed hospitals. Large drops were observed regarding questions about staff responsiveness and hospital cleanliness, and moderate declines for communication about medicines, communication with doctors and nurses, and care transitions. The global ratings decline occurred at a slower pace compared to the more specific measures of patient experience. This could be due to patients having lower expectations at the onset of the pandemic.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/999423