Factors Influencing Patients' Hospital Rating After Total Joint Arthroplasty

Impact of Structural Employee Empowerment on Hospital Ratings: Mediating Role of Social Climate and First-Line Managers' Resilience

Objective

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between the structural empowerment of first-line health managers and health facility performance, examining the mediating roles of resilience and social climate in shaping the ratings of Slovak hospitals. Additionally, we aim to investigate the deeper mechanisms of this relationship, particularly the impact of resilience and the social climate, which can positively influence it.

Materials and Methods

The data collection was conducted through a questionnaire survey in February 2022. Respondents included 540 healthcare managers at the first level of management from 44 Slovak hospitals, all of which were part of the evaluation by the Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO). The analysis involved the use of the PLS-SEM method to examine the relationships between variables and assess direct and indirect effects, utilizing SmartPLS 3.3 software.

Results

The findings reveal a positive association between the structural empowerment of first-level managers and the ranking of health facilities. The hypotheses regarding the mediation of both variables - First-Level Managers' (FLMs) resilience and social climate - are supported, whether considered separately or jointly. In the case of joint mediation, a significant portion of the indirect effect is conveyed through FLMs' resilience, suggesting a potential avenue of support from hospital management to enhance health facility ratings.

Conclusion

Structural empowerment of first-line managers establishes the conditions for improving the ratings of health facilities. The total effect is significantly more pronounced in promoting their resilience and fostering a supportive social climate.

Lai E, Bradford L, Bass AR, Amen TB, Russell LA, Mehta B, Parks M, Figgie M, Goodman S. Racial Differences in Patient Satisfaction With the Hospital Experience Undergoing Primary Unilateral Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Study

Background

Press Ganey (PG) inpatient survey is widely used to track patient satisfaction with the hospital experience. Our aim was to use the PG survey to determine if there are racial differences in overall hospital experience and perception of nurses and surgeons following hip and knee arthroplasty.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed Black and White patients from hip and knee arthroplasty registries from a single institution between July 2010 and February 2012. The overall assessment score for the hospital experience and perception of the nurse and surgeon questions from the PG inpatient survey were dichotomized as "not completely satisfied" or "completely satisfied". Multivariable logistic regression models were developed to determine the impact of race on the likelihood of being 'completely satisfied' in the hip and knee cohorts.

Results

There were 2517 hip and 2114 knee patients who underwent surgery and completed the PG survey, of whom 3.9% were Black and 96.0% were White. Black patients were less likely to be completely satisfied with their hospital experience compared to White patients in the hip (odds ratio 0.62, confidence interval 0.39-1.00, P = .049) and knee (odds ratio 0.52, confidence interval 0.33-0.82, P = .005) cohorts. Black patients were also less likely to be completely satisfied with multiple aspects of care they received from the nurse and surgeon in both cohorts.

Conclusions

We found that the PG Survey shows Black patients were less likely to be completely satisfied than White patients with the hospital experience, including their interactions with nurses and surgeons. More work is needed to understand this difference.

Is There an Association Between Negative Patient-Experience Comments and Perioperative Outcomes After Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty?

BACKGROUND

Multiple stakeholders are interested in improving patient experience after primary total hip arthroplasty due to shifts toward patient-centered care. Patient free-text narratives are a potentially valuable but largely unexplored source of data.

METHODS

The records of 383 patients who underwent primary total hip arthroplasty between August 2016 and August 2019 were combined with vendor-supplied patient satisfaction data, which included patient free-text comments and the Press Ganey satisfaction survey. A total of 1295 patient comments were analyzed for sentiment, and negative comments were categorized into nine themes. Postoperative outcomes, patient-reported outcome measures, and traditional measures of satisfaction were compared between patients who provided a negative comment vs those who did not. Multivariable regression was used to determine perioperative variables associated with providing a negative comment.

RESULTS

Of the 1295 patient comments: 54% were positive, 24% were negative, 10% were mixed, and 12% were neutral. Top two themes of negative comments were room condition (25%) and inefficient communication (23%). There were no differences in studied outcomes (eg. peak pain intensity, length of stay, or improvements in hip injury and osteoarthritis outcome scores Jr. and pain visual analog scale scores at 6-week follow-up) between those who provided negative comments vs those who did not (P > .05). However, patients who made negative comments were less likely to recommend their hospital care to peers (P < .001). Finally, patients who had >2 allergies (P = .024) were more likely to provide negative comments.

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrates that patient satisfaction appears not to be a reliable sole proxy for traditional objective outcome measures of pain relief and functional improvement.

Natural Language Processing of Patient-Experience Comments After Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

BACKGROUND

There is interest in improving patient experience after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) due to recent shifts toward value-based medicine. Patient narratives are a valuable but unexplored source of information.

METHODS

Records of 319 patients who had undergone primary TKA between August 2016 and August 2019 were linked with vendor-supplied patient satisfaction data, which included patient comments and the Press Ganey satisfaction survey. Using machine-learning-based natural language processing, 1048 patient comments were analyzed for sentiment and classified into themes. Postoperative outcomes, patient-reported outcome measures, and traditional measures of satisfaction were compared between patients who provided a negative comment vs those who did not (positive, neutral, mixed grouped together). Multivariable regression was used to determine perioperative variables associated with providing a negative comment.

RESULTS

Of the 1048 patient comments, 25% were negative, 58% were positive, 8% were mixed, and 9% were neutral. Top 2 themes of negative comments were room condition (25%) and inefficient communication (23%). There were no differences in most of the studied outcomes (eg, peak pain intensity, length of stay, or Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Junior and pain scores at 6-week follow-up) between the 2 cohorts (P > .05). However, patients who made negative comments were less likely to highly recommend their hospital care to peers (P < .001). Finally, patients who had higher American Society of Anesthesiologists Score and those who received a scopolamine patch were more likely to provide negative comments (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

Although the current study showed that patient satisfaction might not be a proxy for traditional objective perioperative outcomes, efforts to improve the nontechnical aspects of medicine are still crucial in providing patient-centered care.

Patient-Reported Outcomes: Quality of Care on a Neurosurgical Ward

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Patient experience has become a quality measure in hospitals across the United States. To improve our understanding of our neurosurgical patient population's satisfaction needs, we undertook a detailed survey to identify areas of needed improvement.

METHODS

Upon institutional review board approval, a detailed survey adopted from the Swedish quality-of-care patient questionnaire was distributed to all patients being discharged from the neurosurgical ward over a month period. From June 2014 to July 2014, all patients admitted to the neurosurgery service through the emergency department, clinic, or other facilities were enrolled. There were no specific inclusion criteria except for age older than 18 years, intact cognition to complete the survey, and return of a completed survey. Data were collected in 6 major categories, including information availability, patient accessibility, treatment received, caring perception, hospital environment, and overall satisfaction. Patients were evaluated by age, gender, surgery, and admission type.

RESULTS

Our analysis demonstrated an improved overall satisfaction in those patients being admitted electively from the clinic as compared with emergency department admissions or hospital transfers. In addition, patients admitted on an emergent basis reported a lower satisfaction pertaining to receiving information, specifically test results.

CONCLUSIONS

Emergent admissions represent a subpopulation that may require additional strategies to improve patient satisfaction survey scores.

Quantifying the Backlog of Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Cases: Predicting the Impact of COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are two high-volume procedures that were delayed due to COVID-19.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

To help strategize an effective return to elective orthopedic surgery, we aimed to quantify the volume of THA and TKA cases delayed across the USA and estimate the time required to care for these patients when non-urgent surgery resumes.

METHODS

Population-level data was used to estimate monthly THA and TKA procedural volume from 2011 to 2017. Using linear regression, we used this data to project monthly procedural volumes for 2020 to 2023. Nine different permutations were modeled to account for variations in case delay rates (50%, 75%, 100%) and in resumption of non-urgent procedure timing. Two recovery pathways using the highest volume month as a surrogate for maximum operative capacity, and a second using the highest month + 20% were used to simulate a theoretical expansion of current capacity.

RESULTS

The projected national volume of delayed cases was 155,293 (mid-March through April; 95% CI 142,004 to 168,580), 260,806 (through May; 95% CI 238,658 to 282,952), and 372,706 (through June; 95% CI 341,699 to 403,709). The best- and worst-case scenarios for delayed cases were 77,646 (95% CI 71,002 to 84,290) and 372,706 (95% CI 341,699 to 403,709), respectively. The projected catch-up time varied between 9 and nearly 35 months for the best- and worst-case scenarios. The addition of 20% increased productivity decreased this time to between 3.21 and 11.59 months.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a significant backlog of THA and TKA procedures. Surgeons, administrators, and policymakers should account for these modeled estimates of case volume delays and projected demands.

Pain intensity in total hip arthroplasty patients: how communication influences satisfaction

INTRODUCTION

An important global measure of health care quality is patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction partially determines hospital reimbursement for procedures such as total hip arthroplasty (THA). Press Ganey (PG) survey responses assess patient satisfaction, and impact reimbursement. Current efforts to maximise repayment for THA include reducing postoperative pain. The "Pain Management" survey domain is considered a significant factor in patient ratings, but other studies have highlighted staff communication domains as determinants of satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare PG survey responses to inpatient pain intensity.

METHODS

We queried the PG database for all patients who underwent a THA between November 2012 and January 2015. This yielded a total of 302 patients. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyse patient-level demographics. A multivariate regression model was constructed utilising pain intensity as the dependent variable.

RESULTS

Patients rating of "Communication with Doctors" (B = -25.534; p < 0.001) and "Communication about Medicines" (B = -31.49; p = < 0.001) domains were representative of patient pain intensity. No other factors demonstrated a significant relationship to pain intensity.

CONCLUSIONS

Patient satisfaction continues to be important in care quality. Surrogate markers, such as the PG survey, can guide institutions looking to improve care. Our study revealed scores for "Communication with Doctors" and "Communication about Medicines" best represented true pain intensity levels for THA recipients during the postoperative period. The "Pain Management" domain did not display a relationship to pain intensity. The current method of measuring patient satisfaction should be reassessed to better represent patient responses and outcomes.

Hypovitaminosis D in lower extremity Joint Arthroplasty: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The purpose of the current systematic review was to identify the prevalence of hypovitaminosis-D in LE-TJA patients; and outline the association between pre-operative hypovitaminosis and post-operative outcomes. A search of PubMed-Medline and the Cochrane-Library databases was performed for literature published before November 27th, 2019. The eighteen studies analyzed had a pooled prevalence for vitamin D insufficiency (20 - <30 ng/mL) and deficiency (<20 ng/mL) of 53.4% and 39.4%, respectively. Hypovitaminosis-D was associated with higher complication rates (p = 0.043), and a greater prevalence among septic versus aseptic revisions (p = 0.016). Therefore, pre-operative screening for hypovitaminosis-D can be beneficial in patients undergoing LE-TJA.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Systematic Review (Level III).

Association Between Nonmodifiable Demographic Factors and Patient Satisfaction Scores in Spine Surgery Clinics

The Press Ganey survey is the most widely used instrument for measuring patient satisfaction. Understanding the factors that influence these surveys may permit better use of survey results and may direct interventions to increase patient satisfaction. Press Ganey Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys administered to ambulatory spine surgery clinic patients within a large tertiary care network from May 2016 to September 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Mean comparison testing was performed to measure associations between patient demographics and responses to "overall provider rating" and "recommend this provider's office" survey questions. Mean difference to achieve significance was set at α<0.05. A multivariate analysis was performed to determine independent factors. A total of 1400 survey responses from the offices of 11 orthopedic spine surgeons were included. Patients 18 to 34 years old had significantly lower responses to the overall provider rating question than older patients (P<.001), and increasing patient age was correlated with improved ratings. Highest education level was inversely correlated with satisfaction scores, with patients who had attained graduate level education having the lowest satisfaction scores (P=.001). Those with commercial insurance had significantly lower ratings for recommend this provider's office (P=.042) and overall provider rating (P=.022) questions than those with other insurance types. Patients administered the survey on paper had significantly lower ratings than those administered the survey online (P=.006). Provider ratings were significantly higher when the sex and ethnicity of the patient were concordant with the provider (P=.021). This study showed that independent, nonmodifiable factors such as age, education level, and survey mode were significantly associated with the satisfaction of ambulatory spine surgery clinic patients. [Orthopedics. 2019; 42(3):143-148.].

Impact of a Resident-Guided Rounding Initiative on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey Scores in Orthopaedic Surgery Inpatients

Patient-centered medicine is becoming the main focus of many healthcare systems, and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey is a tool used to track patient satisfaction. In this study, we evaluate the HCAHPS scores in orthopaedic surgery inpatients before and after implementation of a resident-guided rounding protocol. Analyses of the HCAHPS surveys for 154 orthopaedic surgical inpatients at one community hospital were compared 6 months before and after implementation of a resident-guided rounding initiative. Specific questions of the HCAHPS survey were analyzed using the top box, mean, and positive scores. Implementation of the rounding initiative resulted in an increase in the top box, mean, and positive scores for all questions evaluated; however, no significance was noted in the results, with the exception of the positive score for a staff cohesiveness question (P = 0.046). Physician and hospital recommendation questions showed a 5-point increase (91st to 96th percentile) compared with 42-point increase (21st to 63rd percentile) by publicly reported national data. Implementation of the rounding initiative resulted in increases in HCAHPS scores across multiple questions and domains; however, these were not significant. These results suggest that simple interventions can help increase the overall patient satisfaction and promote future investigations.

Evidence-Based Thresholds for the Volume and Cost Relationship in Total Hip Arthroplasty: Outcomes and Economies of Scale

BACKGROUND

High-volume surgeons and hospital systems have been shown to deliver higher-value care in several studies. However, no evidence-based volume thresholds for cost currently exist in total hip arthroplasty (THA). The objective of this study was to establish meaningful thresholds in cost for surgeons and hospitals performing THA. A secondary objective was to analyze the market share of THAs for each surgeon and hospital stratifications.

METHODS

Using a database of 136,501 patients undergoing THA, we used stratum-specific likelihood ratio analysis of a receiver operating characteristic curve to generate volume thresholds based on costs for surgeons and hospitals. In addition, we examined the relative proportion of annual THA cases performed by each surgeon and hospital stratifications.

RESULTS

Stratum-specific likelihood ratio analysis of cost by annual surgeon THA volume produced stratifications at: 0-73 (low), 74-123 (medium), and 124 or more (high). Analysis by annual hospital THA volume produced stratifications at: 0-121 (low), 122-309 (medium), and 310 or more (high). Hospital costs decreased significantly (P < .05) in progressively higher volume stratifications. High-volume centers perform the largest proportion of THA cases (48.6%); however, low volume surgeons perform the greatest share of these cases (44.6%).

CONCLUSION

Our study establishes economies of scale in THA by demonstrating a direct relationship between volume and cost reduction. High-volume hospitals are performing the greatest proportion of THAs; however, low-volume surgeons perform the largest share of these cases, which highlights a potential area for enhanced value in the care of patients undergoing THA.

Are Allogeneic Transfusions Decreasing in Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients? National Inpatient Sample 2009-2013

BACKGROUND

Allogeneic transfusions are commonly used for substantial blood loss in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), but have been associated with adverse effects and increased costs. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed description of (1) trends of allogeneic blood transfusion; (2) risk factors and adverse events; and (3) discharge disposition, length-of-stay (LOS), and cost/charge analysis for primary TKA patients who received an allogeneic blood transfusion from 2009-2013.

METHODS

A cohort of 3,217,056 primary TKA patients was identified from the National Inpatient Sample database from 2009-2013. Demographic, clinical, economic, and discharge data were analyzed for patients who received allogeneic blood products, and for those who did not receive any type of blood transfusion. Other parameters analyzed include risk factors, adverse events, discharge disposition, and costs/charges.

RESULTS

There was a significant decline in use of allogeneic transfusion from 2009-2013 incidence (13.9%-7.3%; P < .001). All comorbidities examined were associated with significantly increased risk of receiving allogeneic transfusion with exception of patients with AIDS, metastatic cancer, and peptic ulcer disease. Allogeneic transfusion was associated with worse outcomes during hospitalization. Patients also had a greater likelihood of discharge to short-term care, greater LOS, and greater median costs/charges. Among TKA patients who received an allogeneic transfusion, costs varied based on hospital ownership and characteristics, primary-payer, region, and bed-size.

CONCLUSION

Given the poor outcomes and higher costs associated with allogeneic transfusions, efforts must be undertaken to minimize this risky practice. With the projected increase in demand for TKAs, orthopedists must understand effective blood management strategies.