Complete the 2012 Medical Staff Partnership Survey by May 29

The FY 12 Medical Staff Partnership will be available through May 29, 2012.

This survey provides an opportunity for you to share feedback and identify areas for further improvement. Once again, Press Ganey Associates, Inc. will administer the survey and individual responses will be confidential. Facility and System results will be available on June 25, 2012 and will compare WellStar to national benchmarks. This survey includes both physicians and advanced practice professionals for each facility.

You should have received one survey from the location of your greatest activity. Additional surveys from other facilities may be requested. The survey can be completed online or by paper and should only take 10-15 minutes to complete.

Patient Satisfaction Graphs

Physician Partnership Action Plan Update

Having a strong relationship with our medical staff is key for WellStar to achieve it vision of delivering world-class healthcare. To assist us in building this relationship and discovering areas for improvement, we annually conduct a satisfaction survey of our medical staff. This survey provides us important feedback regarding the quality of patient care, responsiveness of leadership and access to the technology you need. WellStar senior leaders, which include hospital, WellStar Medical Group and physician leadership, use this survey information to prioritize efforts to provide our patients the highest level of care and to create a great place to work for our medical staff and team members.

Last year, 61 percent of our medical staff participated in the study. This is well above the national participation average of 43 percent and shows that our staff cares and is engaged in our efforts to improve. The survey results shown below clearly indicated that there are opportunities for improvement to reach world-class satisfaction levels.  However, this information helped us determine key opportunities for improvement at each facility.

WellStar leadership has developed and is implementing detailed work plans based on your feedback and additional insights gained through rounding at the physician practices, medical staff leadership meetings and direct conversations with medical staff.

WellStar leadership will continue to refine these plans throughout the remainder of this fiscal year. You will be provided updates monthly at the MEC meetings and through the Medical Staff Newsletter.  If you would like to be involved in any of these action items, please contact your hospital president.

We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing our progress with improved results in our next satisfaction survey to be conducted in April. Thank you for participating in the survey and providing your feedback in order for us to improve and achieve our vision of delivering world-class healthcare to our community.

Active Medical Staff Engagement Survey Extended Through June 7

Physician satisfaction with the services we provide is a key indicator of our progress toward our vision. The FY 2011 Medical Staff Engagement Survey, which has been extended through Tuesday, June 7, requests your opinion regarding patient care quality, hospital / medical staff leadership, and access to information technology you need. Our goal is to achieve 85 percent participation. We are currently at 51 percent participation so if you have not taken the survey yet, you have one more week to do so. The survey provides an opportunity for you to give candid feedback to administrative and physician leaders and to identify areas for further improvement.

As survey responses are confidential, we do not know who has or has not yet completed the survey. Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to complete the survey providing feedback as to what is working well and opportunities for improvement. 

Once again, Press Ganey Associates is administering the survey and individual responses will be confidential. The survey can be completed online or by paper and should only take 10-15 minutes to complete. You should have received a hard copy of the survey in the mail, along with a 16 character PIN number in case you prefer to complete the survey online at https://esurvey.pressganey.com.

2011 Medical Staff Satisfaction Survey Will Run Through May 29

Physician satisfaction with the services we provide is a key indicator of our progress toward our vision. This year’s Press Ganey survey, which began April 18 and will conclude May 29, requests your opinion regarding patient care quality, hospital / medical staff leadership, and access to information technology you need. We will utilize the information gathered in the survey to make decisions and prioritize our efforts to improve performance. The survey provides an opportunity for you to give candid feedback to administrative and physician leaders and, when appropriate, recognize a job well done.

The survey is confidential; no one outside of the company that administers the survey will see your questionnaire. If you did not receive the survey last weekend at the Physician Retreat, you can expect to receive a hard copy in the mail next month. At that time, you will also receive a website link and a 16 character PIN number in case you prefer to complete the survey via the Internet.

Physician Satisfaction with Medical Care HCAHPS

The healthcare industry is steadily becoming more consumer-driven and transparent. As part of this movement toward increased transparency and consumerism, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) created a new survey tool. Dubbed the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (HCAHPS), this survey tool measures patients’ perceptions of their experience within hospitals. The results of this survey are publicly posted on CMS’ website, www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov, and are directly tied to reimbursement by CMS.

2010 WellStar Medical Staff Engagement Survey

The annual WellStar Medical Staff Engagement Survey, being conducted April 19 to June 7, provides an opportunity for members of the Medical Staff team to share feedback and identify areas for further improvement. Once again, Press Ganey Associates will administer the survey and individual responses will be confidential. Facility and System results will be available in July and will compare WellStar to national benchmarks. This year, for the first time, advanced practitioners will be included in the survey.

WellStar Cobb Hospital – Physician Town Hall Meeting

Presented by Randy Cook, Senior Vice President and Hospital Administrator

Thursday, April 15
12 p.m. (noon)
WellStar Cobb Hospital – Auditorium

Physician Satisfaction at WellStar Kennestone Hospital (Part 2 of the Series)

Robert Jansen, M.D., VP of Medical Affairs

As we draw near the Medical Staff Engagement Survey, I would like to update you on Kennestone’s active involvement to continue improvements based on survey feedback and how we are aligning our efforts with Dr. Stephen C. Beeson’s book Engaging Physicians.

WellStar Focuses on Physician Satisfaction

The 2009 Physician Satisfaction Survey revealed a need for improvement in the ease of care, overall patient care and strengthened relationships between physicians and hospital leadership.

Physician Satisfaction at WellStar Kennestone Hospital

Robert Jansen, M.D., VP of Medical Affairs

With the winter season well underway, the forthcoming warm weather and spring season are a welcome thought. Spring also brings us toward our annual Physician Satisfaction Survey and the opportunity for you, as a provider, to share your feedback. Our hope is that you will participate, encourage others to participate and use this opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made since the 2009 survey.