The longest year

Amid some of the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia’s patient satisfaction rate fell slightly in an annual nationwide survey, and just two hospitals in the commonwealth received top marks from their patients. Overall, Virginia patient satisfaction lagged the national average by 3% in 2020.

The patient satisfaction scores come from the annual Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The Virginia results of the latest survey are shown on Pages 36-37. The latest survey was conducted in 2020, assessing patient satisfaction as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic moved toward its zenith.

The results are provided by Virginia Health Information, a Richmond-based nonprofit organization offering an array of data on hospitals, nursing facilities, physicians and health insurers in the commonwealth.

In addition to the patient satisfaction survey, VHI annually provides Virginia Business with service line reports showing patient discharge volume by region for a wide variety of hospital procedures.

The national satisfaction survey asks patients two questions: How do they rate the hospital? And would they recommend the hospital to friends and family?

The highest ratings in answer to the first question are 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale. The highest recommendation in response to the second question is: “Yes, definitely.”

In answering both questions in 2020, 80% or more of respondents gave top ratings to just two of 82 Virginia acute-care hospitals: Carilion Giles Community Hospital in Pearisburg and Riverside Doctors’ Hospital in Williamsburg.

Carilion Giles Community Hospital also received top marks in the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020 surveys.

Additionally, another eight hospitals scored 80% or better on one of the two questions in the 2020 survey: Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax; Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church; Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg; Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville; Smyth County Community Hospital in Marion; StoneSprings Hospital Center in Dulles; University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville; and Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.

The Virginia average percentages for top ratings in the 2020 survey were 69% for both questions (down 2% for the first question and down 1% for the second question from the 2019 survey). The national averages for the latest survey were 72% for the first question and 71% percent for the second, each a percentage point lower than the previous year.

In the 2020 survey, data was unavailable from six hospitals, and an insufficient number of patients took the survey at two other facilities.

The service line reports on Pages 38-44 show consumers which hospitals are the market leaders in their regions in terms of patient discharges for a variety of procedures. VHI suggests that patients seek additional information about their options and needs from health care providers. Not all hospitals provide the same types of care.

VHI also publishes regional and statewide costs for dozens of services to help consumers compare expected costs. These and other details about Virginia hospitals and other health providers are available at vhi.org.