Patients Giving Hospitals Higher Ratings

A new survey says patients appear to be more satisfied with U.S. hospitals than in recent years.

The survey of 2.3 million patients treated at more than 1,700 acute care hospitals in 2006, found that hospitals averaged a rating of 84.2 on a 100-point scale, up 1.2 points from five years ago.

The biggest complaints were room conditions, food quality and the hospital’s discharge process, The Wall Street Journal said Wednesday.

Oklahoma City topped the list of cities with the highest patient satisfaction in local hospitals, followed by Milwaukee, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio.

The survey, conducted by Press Ganey Associates, said obstetrics and gynecology patients report the highest patient satisfaction compared with all other patient care specialties.

Patients are three times more likely to write a positive comment about their nurse or physician than a negative comment, the report said.