Patient evaluation of the hotel function of hospitals.

Abstract

By having access to patient satisfaction comparisons among hospitals, patients are empowered to make better choices, employers can identify and adapt to patient preferences, and administrators can improve the services delivered and decrease health care costs by improving efficiency. Although our study was somewhat limited by patient selection biases, the study's results suggest that Internet-based tools of comparison will enable patients to make free and informed decisions about their health care by comparing local hospitals and voting on their impressions of the facilities from which they receive care.