Publicly Reported Patient Satisfaction Scores in Academic Otolaryngology Departments

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis: Despite controversy regarding their impact and validity, there is a rising national focus on patient satisfaction scores (PSS). We describe the landscape of online PSS as posted by academic otolaryngology practices.Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: Websites of academic otolaryngology programs were reviewed for PSS scores, provider type, and geographic location. Gender was determined by picture or profile pronouns. Years of experience were determined by year of initial American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery certification. We defined PSS derived from Press-Ganey or Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys as "standardized PSS". We determined potential associations between provider characteristics and standardized PSS.Results: Out of 115 Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery academic programs, 40 (35%) posted a total of 64,638 online PSS surveys (nonstandardized plus standardized) of 507 unique otolaryngology care providers. Standardized PSS were posted for 473 providers (370 [78%] male; 446 physicians; 27 advanced practice providers). Median overall standardized PSS was 4.8 (interquartile range 4.7-4.9; range 3.8-5.0). PSS were similar between gender, provider type, and years of experience. Male providers had more surveys than female providers (149 vs. 93; P < .01). There was a linear relationship between number of surveys and years of experience (P < .01), but no relationship between number of surveys and overall standardized PSS.Conclusions: Patient satisfaction with otolaryngology providers at academic institutions is consistently high, as demonstrated by high online PSS with little variability. The limited variation in PSS may limit their usefulness in differentiating providers and quality of care.

A natural language processing approach to uncover patterns among online ratings of otolaryngologists

“…10 Similarly, provider gender has been shown not to have an association with Press Ganey scores within the otolaryngology literature. 19,20 However, a preference towards male general surgeons in both patient-report and Press Ganey scores aligns with the current results, which may reflect longstanding gender bias within a traditionally male-dominated field. 21,22 One possible explanation is that there may be variability in gender preference depending on whether the encounter is a clinical or a surgical consult.…”

Impact of Giving Patients Your Personal Phone Number in Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery

“…8,12,13 The provider-patient relationship and provider accessibility have been shown to greatly influence patient satisfaction and influence malpractice claims. 5,12,14-18 In this study, we demonstrated that participants in the +PN group reported greater patient satisfaction scores than participants in the ∅PN group. While the participant survey did not achieve the threshold sample size as determined in the a priori power analysis, a post-hoc power analysis showed a power of 0.92426 given the study group sample sizes and mean differences.…”