Patient Satisfaction Paper
Patient satisfaction is critically important to the health care industry today due to the competitive nature of the field. Patients have many choices when it comes to seeking medical attention, and hospitals are dependent on return business to stay operational. Hospitals have traditionally utilized the semi-private room model in order to increase profitability. A semi-private room is a room shared by two patients. Each patient is given their own bed, but they usually share a single bathroom. Unfortunately the financial practice of using semi-private rooms comes at the expense of patient satisfaction. Research has shown that private rooms increase patient satisfaction, because of the decreased likelihood of nosocomial infection, a quieter
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Unfortunately staff members are usually to blame for spreading infectious microorganisms from one patient to the next. Studies have shown healthcare professionals are more likely to perform hand hygiene between patient rooms rather than between beds in the same room (Bereket et al., 2012). This is not necessarily due to a failing on the part of healthcare professionals, but a failing of healthcare systems utilizing semi private rooms. Take this scenario for instance: a nurse is working with a patient in a semiprivate room when suddenly the bed alarm goes off on the neighboring bed. The roommate is an elderly female with Alzheimer 's-dementia who recently fell at home and suffered a fractured hip. The nurse has already been in physical contact with one patient and now has to take action in order to prevent the roommate from falling. The nurse must act quickly to prevent a fall-related injury and does not have time to perform hand hygiene before assisting the roommate back to bed. This nurse would not have been put in such a position had her patients been placed in private rooms to begin with. Standardizing the use of private rooms prevents situations such as the above from occurring, promotes proper hand hygiene amongst healthcare professionals, and protects patients from unnecessary exposure to nosocomial
Unfortunately staff members are usually to blame for spreading infectious microorganisms from one patient to the next. Studies have shown healthcare professionals are more likely to perform hand hygiene between patient rooms rather than between beds in the same room (Bereket et al., 2012). This is not necessarily due to a failing on the part of healthcare professionals, but a failing of healthcare systems utilizing semi private rooms. Take this scenario for instance: a nurse is working with a patient in a semiprivate room when suddenly the bed alarm goes off on the neighboring bed. The roommate is an elderly female with Alzheimer 's-dementia who recently fell at home and suffered a fractured hip. The nurse has already been in physical contact with one patient and now has to take action in order to prevent the roommate from falling. The nurse must act quickly to prevent a fall-related injury and does not have time to perform hand hygiene before assisting the roommate back to bed. This nurse would not have been put in such a position had her patients been placed in private rooms to begin with. Standardizing the use of private rooms prevents situations such as the above from occurring, promotes proper hand hygiene amongst healthcare professionals, and protects patients from unnecessary exposure to nosocomial