National comparison of Veterans and non-veterans medical center patient satisfaction ratings: An HCAHPS survey data analysis

Abstract: This study compared patient satisfaction with quality of care received in US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals and non-VA hospitals. Out of the 137 VA hospitals in operation, 113 reported Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey results, which were used in this analysis. Each VA hospital was matched with a non-VA hospital within the same city that had the most similar bed count. Hospitals were compared using eight of the 29 total questions on the HCAHPS patient satisfaction survey, covering areas of care delivery including: doctor and nurse communication, staff responsiveness, cleanliness, preference consideration, care transition, overall rating, and likelihood of recommendation. For all eight questions, VA hospitals received significantly more positive responses, and non-VA hospitals received significantly more moderate and negative responses. This showed that patients were more satisfied with care in VA hospitals than non-VA hospitals. A secondary analysis aimed to determine whether there were differences in VA patient satisfaction between different regions of the US. The 113 VA hospitals were grouped into 4 regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) and patient satisfaction was compared using the same eight HCAHPS questions as the primary analysis. Overall, results did not yield extensive differences between these regions; however, there was a trend of the South having more negative responses than the Midwest. Results suggest that recent calls for higher-quality VA care and increases in VA funding have led to greater patient satisfaction for our nation’s veterans.

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