Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/611784
14 PATIENT EXPERIENCE Number of Five-Star Hospitals Decreases Dramatically in CMS Hospital Compare Update By Heather Punke C MS updated its Hospital Compare database Oct. 8 with new patient experience survey results, and the number of hospitals receiving a five-star HCAHPS summary rating is down significantly since the last update in July. When the ratings first went live in April, 251 hospitals earned the highest available rating of five stars. When the data were updated in July to reflect HCAHPS scores gathered from October 2013 through September 2014, that number shot up to 336. Now, however, with HCAHPS data from January 2014 through December 2014, just 207 hospitals out of 3,539 earned a five-star HCAHPS summary star rating. The following is a breakdown of the new star rating distribution: • One star: 76 hospitals (121 hospitals prior) • Two stars: 638 hospitals (475 hospitals prior) • Three stars: 1,531 hospitals (1,320 hospitals prior) • Four stars: 1,087 hospitals (1,296 hospitals prior) • Five stars: 207 hospitals (336 hospitals prior) CMS plans to update data and star ratings quarterly. Even though the American Hospital Association has urged CMS to rethink how the agency generates these star ratings and there has been backlash from industry leaders, CMS does not have plans to change the summary star rating formula, according to CMS. n Geisinger to Begin Offering Refunds to Unsatisfied Patients By Ayla Ellison G eisinger Health System President and CEO David Feinberg, MD, said the Danville, Pa.-based health system is going to start offering a mon- ey-back guarantee to patients who receive care at its facilities, according to a Times Leader report. Dr. Feinberg discussed the plan at the sixth annual Health Care Symposium at Misericordia University in November. According to Dr. Feinberg, aer patients receive care at a Geisinger facility, they will be able to use a smartphone app to tell the system about their experience and then request a refund if they are unhappy with the care they received. "e refund page knows how much you paid. ere's a sliding scale. You can ask for $100 back, or $2,000 back," Dr. Feinberg said, according to the report. e app, called Geisinger ProvenExperience, launched the week of Nov. 9. Dr. Feinberg said giving patients some money back is "a small token of appreciation" for providing valuable information that will help fix any issues for future patients. He compared the refund idea to purchasing a coffee at Starbucks. "If the barista makes it for you and you sip it and you don't like it, Starbucks says we will make you a new coffee or give you your money back. I've never seen a Starbucks barista sip the coffee and say no, we made it right, you have to drink it," Dr. Feinberg told the Times Leader. n 37% 34% 16% 16% 38%