Low Scores to Hospitals on Pain Management and Discharge Instructions

A new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers analyzed the first national data on patients' experiences in hospital settings and found that though patients are generally satisfied with their care, there is substantial room for improvement in a number of key areas, including pain management and discharge instructions. Pain management has been the target of both accreditation and quality-improvement initiatives for many years, but nearly a third of patients did not give high ratings in that area. Discharge instructions have similarly been targeted for quality initiatives, but about a fifth of patients did not rate communications in that area highly. "Given that we spend more than $2 trillion annually for health care in our country, we should expect that the basics are addressed, like always treating pain adequately," To view data on individual hospitals, go to www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov then click on the "Find and Compare Hospitals" button.