Trust and satisfaction are both necessary components of a facility's true objective: patient loyalty (see " The Rx for Improving Patient Finances") But patient trust is something that hospitals have to earn. Chances are, if patients report high levels of satisfaction with the facility but a lower likelihood to return, or if patient satisfaction scores are improving but the hospital's market share continues to decline, then lack of patient trust may be a confounding factor. To investigate the key determinants of patient trust, Gallup recently interviewed more than 2,800 patients from 52 facilities in 12 metropolitan areas. Of 37 tested items, five were found to be significant predictors of patient trust:
- The hospital is one of the best at treating the medical condition for which you were hospitalized.
- The hospital staff follows through with what it says it will do.
- Any concerns or problems you may have had were resolved to your
complete
satisfaction. - Hospital staff treated you with dignity and respect.
- Overall, how satisfied were you with your hospital stay?
Any hospital not acutely aware of its standing on these key items of patient trust may have critical gaps in its performance- measurement system. Such gaps could compromise its ability to achieve improved financial performance, regardless of patient satisfaction scores.