Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all 10 core patient satisfaction metrics — including overall hospital rating, communication with doctors, communication about medication and willingness to recommend the hospital.
That is the conclusion of Medicare’s latest nationwide patient survey.
"I strongly believe that the VA is the best option for veteran care. Study after study shows that quality and patient safety is at least as good if not better than our private sector counterparts," VA Undersecretary of Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal told NPR.
In its Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, Medicare awards from one star to five stars, with “more stars representing better quality care.” Based on patient surveys between July 2021 and June 2022, 72% of VA hospitals received four or five stars for overall hospital rating compared to 48% of reporting non-VA hospitals.
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VA hospitals also received a higher percentage of four or five star ratings than non-VA hospitals for communication with doctors (87% vs. 48%), communication with nurses (59% vs. 35%), responsiveness of hospital staff (63% vs. 34%), communication about medicines (80% vs. 38%), cleanliness of the hospital environment (69% vs. 52%), quietness of the hospital environment (49% vs. 38%), discharge information (65% vs. 55%), care transition (76% vs. 35%), and willingness to recommend the hospital (76% vs. 52%), according to data from Medicare’s Care Compare website.
“At VA, veterans are the ultimate judges of our successes or failures — so we’re very proud to be this highly rated in a survey of veterans,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement.
The VA is the country’s largest integrated healthcare system, providing care for around 9 million veterans at 1,255 facilities nationwide. A systematic review of more than 40 peer-reviewed studies has found that VA health Care is consistently as good – or better than– non-VA health care, despite the many scandals that have been reported at its facilities.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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