24 Medical Construction & Design
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July/August 2014 mcdmag.com
I
n the latest Summary of Hospital Consumer Assess-
ment of Health Providers and Systems Survey results,
patients continue to cite hospital noise as a primary
complaint. Patients score the "Quietness of Hospital
Environment" question the lowest of all quality metrics, re-
sponding 61 percent of the time their hospital environment
was "always" quiet.
1
Why do patients remain negative while assessing noise
and how can hospitals respond by providing quieter care?
Hospitals can be loud. Monitors, alarms and pagers, the
constant buzz of conversations — all these sounds add
up. It has been found that "sudden" spikes, or greater
variability in transient noise levels, can have more of an
impact on noise perception than ambient noise levels. This
directly impacts patient sleep, which is needed both dur-
ing the day and at night. Sleep disruption results in lower
HCAHPS scores.
Hospital noise
PREVENTION
HCAHPS and the new
2014 FGI Guidelines
By Patrick Schultz