U.S. patients have reported more positive experiences with healthcare providers in the last year compared to the year before. In fact, experiences with ambulatory surgery and medical practices hit five-year highs (85.3 and 84.1 out of 100, respectively), according to the latest data on the patient experience by Press Ganey. However, hospitals and emergency departments are still recovering to the pre-pandemic levels.
While the nationwide improvement across healthcare experiences is evident, disparities by region, demographics, and care settings persist. After all, organizations need to replace the one-size-fits-all approach to improve patient experiences.
Underrepresented populations in the inpatient setting report significantly lower perceptions of empathy and personalization of care. This is especially prominent with non-white patients, who report lower scores than the average, with a 7-point gap between White and Asian patients.
“Data holds the key to driving meaningful improvements, helping healthcare organizations personalize care, address disparities, and create exceptional experiences for all patients. Top-scoring organizations in patient experience embrace data-driven strategies to break down silos, pinpoint areas for improvement, and identify what’s working well,” said Patrick Ryan, Press Ganey’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Younger generations, like Gen Z and millennials, have greater needs regarding healthcare experiences. Specifically, they desire more information about conditions, medications, and treatments but these needs are often unfulfilled. Their "likelihood to recommend" scores show a 7.7-point gap between patients aged 18–34 and those in the 65–79 age range.
Healthcare organizations that lead in patient experience also recognize the importance of continuously listening to patients and their employees so they can make timely and targeted improvements. Leveraging segmented data can enable organizations to provide more personalized care to patients by considering demographics, care settings, and specialties.
