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Patient satisfaction is an important phenomenon in the health care industry. Health care organizations continually seek innovative approaches to boost patient satisfaction scores. Several studies uncovered nursing behaviors essential to patient satisfaction. Patients value the nurse-patient relationship, as well as time spent with them, continuity of care, trust, compassion, respect, safety, understandable instructions, and service quality. They also appreciate reliability, responsiveness, and effective communication (Andaleeb, Siddiqui, & Khandakar, 2007; Cheng, Yang, & Chiang, 2003; Davis, 2005; Fan, Burman, McDonell, & Fihn, 2005). Satisfaction surveys are used to identify, measure, and track key determinants of satisfaction (Pearson Assessments, 2007).
The Committee on Quality Health Care in America has worked with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the nation's quality of care since 1996, developing a new paradigm for health care delivery based on logic and evidence of patient needs. The IOM (2001) purported successful care will serve the needs of the patient, keep the patient fully informed, allow the patient to retain control through more active participation, and be mindful of patient values and preferences. Sofaer and Firminger (2005) supported these findings in a study based on the aims and rules in previous IOM reports. They noted, "If we are truly to achieve a health care system that is patient-centered, we must continue to search for creative ways to elicit, and heed the voice of the patient" (p. 555).
Safety weighs heavily in patient satisfaction. The Joint Commission provides its accredited health care organizations with a list of National Patient Safety Goals and mandates the requirements necessary to improve patient safety (The Joint Commission, 2008). Problematic areas of health care are identified with evidence-based and expertbased solutions designed to protect patients (The Joint Commission, 2009). Examples of safety goals include reducing risk of patient harm related to falls, preventing pressure ulcers, and enhancing medication administration. Nurses directly impact all these areas with routine nursing care delivery.
Satisfaction is the perception of the patient. Because nursing services play a major role in patient satisfaction, quality of care, and safety, organizations continually must seek new ways to improve these critical services. One strategy called hourly rounding is a suggested method to address these issues (Studer Group, 2007). Hourly rounding is a new, proactive approach to organizing nursing care...