The Effects of Medical Music Therapy on Patient Satisfaction: As Measured by the Press Ganey Inpatient Survey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare overall patient satisfaction scores on the Press Ganey Inpatient Survey (PGIS) of hospital patients who received music therapy services with those of patients at the same hospital who did not receive music therapy services. The identification numbers of all patients who received medical music therapy in 2008 ( N = 522) were provided to Press Ganey Associates. Press Ganey consultants reported mean overall satisfaction scores for those randomly selected music therapy patients who completed the PGIS ( n = 22) and patients who did not receive music therapy services ( n = 909). Results showed that patients who received music therapy reported overall satisfaction scores that were on average 3.4 points higher than scores of patients who did not receive music therapy. Patient demographics which may affect patient satisfaction scores such as age, hospital unit, and reason for referral are discussed.