In this roundtable presentation, members of the ASHE HCAHPS task force will explain a suggested plan of action for incorporating attention to the patient experience into other, routine activities. Also introduced will be checklists, forms, case studies, and other resources from a recently published ASHE monograph on how facility staff can help improve HCAPHS scores. The presenters will also facilitate audience discussion of questions about attendees HCAHPS challenges and brainstorming of solutions. This session will enable attendees to: Describe facility…

Thesis Title: Measuring the impacts of hospital nursing floor and patient room layouts on patients’ experience with care in a major teaching hospital

hile a growing body of literature suggests that the layout of inpatient hospitals impacts a range of outcomes such as noise, falls, and mortality, the research has not yet addressed how layout impacts patient experience of care. Experience of care is of growing importance to hospitals because of their commitment to patients and because it is increasingly linked to payment and is reported publicly.

This study bridges this gap by exploring the relationship between layout of the inpatient room and patient satisfaction scores. The study examines 21 units over 2 to 5 years at a large teaching hospital. This study uses space syntax and other spatial measures to analyze layouts and explores the association with standard patient satisfaction measures, including both HCAHPS and Press-Ganey surveys. The study investigates how layout can be measured and especially how layout might impact the engagements of caregivers as they enter the patient room. Preliminary results show that room layouts which allow care givers to maintain eye contact substantially improve the patient perception of care with their care from the caregiver.

As healthcare becomes increasingly focused on the experience provided to patients, research has indicated that the culture of an organization is central to patient satisfaction. This session will introduce participants to the idea that organizational culture can be influenced by the built environment and that the confluence of the two factors can have a significant impact on patient satisfaction. The presentation will review evidence from research-based case studies which illustrate these ideas in action. Participants can expect to walk away with a new outlook on the importance of patient and staff perception of the built environment and insight into the cultural aspect of patient satisfaction.