Patient Outcomes – Patient Reported

A Healthy Patient Or A Satisfied Customer (Or Both!)? Patient Satisfaction In Otolaryngology, Surgery, And Pediatrics

  • PI:                         Emily Boss, MD, MPH, FACS
  • Funder:                AAOHNSF Rande H. Lazar Health Services Research Grant (2012-14); Johns Hopkins, Clinician Scientist Award (2014-15)
  • Status:                  Ongoing

Increased emphasis on measurement and public reporting of patients’ satisfaction with their healthcare experiences has accompanied clinical practice. Yet despite the emergence of patient satisfaction as a fundamental quality measure, there is a paucity of evidence about how patient satisfaction actually correlates with physical health. The scant existing research that has investigated this association suggests that higher patient satisfaction does not necessarily predict better provider technical skills or improved patient health outcomes.

In this ongoing mixed-method research project we evaluate the association of patient satisfaction with clinical factors in otolaryngology and surgery, as well as the impact of race/ethnicity and SES on parent and family experience of care. In particular we look at measures related to provider-patient communication. This analysis will provide an important foundation for understanding the relevance of patient experience scores and their association with physical health and clinical outcomes in otolaryngology.

Publications:

Boss EF, Thompson RE. (2012) Patient Satisfaction in Otolaryngology:  Can Academic Institutions Compete?  Laryngoscope.  May;122(5):1000-9. doi: 10.1002/lary.23255. Epub 2012 Mar 27. PMID: 22461170

Boss EF, Thompson RE. (2012) Patient Experience in Outpatient Pediatric Otolaryngology.  Laryngoscope,  Oct;122(10):2304-10. doi: 10.1002/lary.23364. Epub 2012 May 30. PMID: 22648433

Boss EF, Thompson RE. (2013)  Patient experience in the pediatric otolaryngology clinic:  Does the teaching setting influence parent satisfaction?  Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol,  Jan;77(1):59-64. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2012.09.030. Epub 2012 Oct 23.

Nieman CL, Benke JR, Ishman SL, Smith DF, Boss EF.  Whose experience is measured? A pilot study of patient satisfaction demographics in pediatric otolaryngology. Laryngoscope. 2013 Jul 12. doi: 10.1002/lary.24307. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 23853050

Espinel AG, Shah RK, Beach MC, Boss EF. (2014) What parents say about their child’s surgeon:  Parent-reported experiences with pediatric surgical physicians. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg.  Mar 20. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2014.102 PMID: 24651973