Just as physician-owned hospitals dominated when it came to gaining a five-star rating for patient experience in Hospital Compare, specialty hospitals also received very high marks.
For instance, all four of the eligible Cancer Treatment Centers of America hospitals (Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia, Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Ill., Southwestern Regional Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla., and Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Newnan, Ga.) received five-star ratings.
"This recognizes our commitment to our patients' clinical needs with respect to the delivery of clear communications, attention to the recovery process, and pain and medication management as dimensions of the patient experience," said Diane Denny, vice president of quality, patient safety and clinical innovation at CTCA. "And these ratings are a testament to our employees who work so diligently and passionately every day to exceed the expectations of our patients."
It's not just cancer-focused hospitals that succeed at patient satisfaction. For example, at least 16 of the 251 five-star hospitals specialize in orthopedics. Another 10 are heart-focused hospitals, and an additional 33 bill themselves as surgical hospitals.
This phenomenon isn't new. According to analysis by the Advisory Board, "specialty hospitals dominate the rankings when it comes to patient satisfaction."
As the report states: "It's much easier for a hospital to have a high overall patient satisfaction score when its mix of patients includes just scheduled cardiac, orthopedics, or spine surgeries, not the less predicable, more difficult-to-manage medical cases."
And since the new Hospital Compare star rankings are based solely on HCAHPS scores, it follows that many specialty hospitals would come out on top with five stars.