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Hospital stays: Patients would pay more for better quality
Porsche Consulting survey documents complaints about hospital organization
Stuttgart
. Prompt treatment without the inconvenience of long waits is of major importance to in-patients at hospitals. Forty-two percent of respondents in Germany would favor hospitals with good organization. One in three would travel up to 50 kilometers from their homes for a hospital with this feature. That is the result of a recent survey by the
People awaiting hospital treatment rely on recommendations from their specialists (67.8%) and their GPs (48%), as well as on personal experience of family and friends (43.8%). These sources are accorded more weight than information acquired from the Internet (18.3%) or media reports (10.9%).
The greatest negatives reported by those with in-patient experience within the past five years are overworked nursing staff (37.8%) and overworked doctors (27.2%). This is related to poor coordination among the staff in general, which involved disadvantages for 23 percent of the patients.
Poor in-patient experience leads people to avoid these hospitals: 73.6 percent of respondents would select a different hospital with a better reputation for future treatment. Many are even willing to pay surcharges for good quality and greater comfort, beyond what is covered by their insurance. The top priority here is a private room: 38.2 percent would pay for peace and privacy. One in five would also be willing to pay a supplement for better nursing care. By contrast, only 14.7 percent consider a supplement for guaranteed treatment by medical department heads to be worthwhile.
”The results indicate that hardly anyone doubts the outstanding quality of medical care at German hospitals,” says Dr. Roman Hipp, the
Based on his consulting experience, Hipp observes that weaknesses in organization and management are tolerated far too long, and once identified are not addressed quickly or intensively enough. “If the staff is already spread too thin, organizational problems at peak periods can bring hospitals to the point of collapse. And it’s not only the patients who suffer, but also the doctors and nurses.” Intelligent restructuring of typical care and treatment processes can markedly improve this situation, as
Headquartered in Bietigheim-Bissingen,
Note: This representative online survey (eBus) of 1,005 persons in Germany was performed May 12-17, 2016, by the GfK market research institute for the
Infographics are available to press offices. Please contact: heiner.von.der.laden@porsche.de
5/24/2016
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