McBitchy-Cum-McSweety: Hospital Staff Members Refine Bedside Manner
Some New York City hospitals are hoping that investing to train staff to be friendlier will help [preserve federal funding]. You know, like, Youre dying sir but would you like a cup of tea before you go? Such training will cost somewhere around millions of dollars. But this new regimen of congeniality might be too late, as the federal government is currently preparing to publicize results of patient satisfaction surveys taken at hospitals that receive Medicare reimbursement.
Hospitals are not required to participate in the Hospital CAHPS survey, but a portion of Medicare reimbursement is contingent on it. The New York Sun explains that for fiscal year 2007, inpatient Medicare reimbursement New York hospitals is projected at $8.9 billionor, in other words, thats a steep price to pay for not taking the time to get your manners rated. Several hospitals have even hired consulting firms to teach staff members to pepper their sentences with words like privacy, security and safety. Think of it as the medical industrys equivalent to 1950s how-to-be-a-lady lessons.