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10 PATIENT EXPERIENCE US News adds patient experience ratings to physician profiles By Megan Knowles U .S. News & World Report teamed up with patient feedback management solutions provider Binary Fountain to publish patient experience ratings on a number of its physician profile pages. e collaboration with Binary Fountain, which provides a data repository of online patient reviews and surveys, aims to let consumers compare physicians and make more informed healthcare decisions. "In the age of healthcare consumerism, patient experience information has become a crucial piece of information for patients and families when choosing a physician," Chad Smolinski, chief product officer of U.S. News, said in an April 10 statement. "Our collaboration with Binary Fountain allows U.S. News to expand the breadth and depth of relevant, trusted data we can provide to patients while searching for a new doctor." Patients using U.S. News' Doctor Finder site can now access a physician's overall patient satisfaction rating, alongside as many as 10 individual patient experience metrics related to what prospective patients look for when choosing a new provider. e ratings reflect patients' feedback on factors including good communication, clarity of instructions, provider's attitude and follow-up. "We are excited to partner with U.S. News to further enhance their doctor profile pages with patient experience ratings, delivering industry-leading insights, data and analytics on thousands of doctors across the country," Ramu Potarazu, president and CEO of Binary Foun- tain, said in the statement. "We are confident that our patient experience ratings will further strengthen the patient voice and empower consumers to make better informed decisions, based on doctors' previous track records." n CMS gives 213 hospitals 5 stars for patient experience By Megan Knowles C MS updated its Hospital Compare website April 25, revealing new Hos- pital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems summary star ratings for 3,466 hospitals, with 213 hospitals earning five stars, according to a notification from the Advisory Board. Since its launch in 2015, the summary star ratings program has assigned hospitals a one- to five-star rating based on HCAHPS survey scores, which assess patient experience. To determine these scores, CMS assigns hospitals star ratings for the 11 measures included in the HCAHPS survey before combining the ratings into one metric. CMS' most recent update is based on HCAHPS survey data collected between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017. Here's how the 3,466 hospitals fared: Five stars: 213 hospitals Four stars: 1,177 hospitals Three stars: 1,522 hospitals Two stars: 495 hospitals One star: 59 hospitals Summary star ratings for patient experience are not the same as CMS' overall quality star ratings, which will be updated in July. The overall quality star ratings stem from 62 quality measures across seven categories: effec- tiveness of care, efficient use of imaging, mortality, patient experience, readmissions, safety and timeliness of care. n What patients & caregivers value most during care transitions By Anuja Vaidya B oston Medical Center researchers examined the care transition values that are most important to patients and caregivers. They published their findings in the Annals of Family Medicine. Researchers conducted a qualitative study involving interviews with 248 patients and caregivers individually and in groups across six U.S. medical centers. The interviewees had been discharged from a medical setting in the previous 90 days. They found accountability, care continuity and caring attitudes were the most important care transition values for patients and caregivers. When these three values were present, patients and caregivers perceived care as excellent. However, in the absence of these values, patients and care- givers viewed care as unsafe or transactional. "Health systems must learn how to better prepare patients and care- givers for care at home and design accessible channels for ongoing support in order to ensure the journey from hospital to home is safe and supports each person's recovery," Suzanne Mitchell, MD, a family medi- cine and palliative care physician at BMC and lead study author, said in a May 14 statement. n