Are beeping monitors and equipment the noises that really bother patients most?
Because the “quiet at night” HCAHPS question on average receives the lowest responses from patients, it is a common target for improvement activities by hospitals and health systems. As a recent article in Healthcare Finance titled “Everybody’s top complaint about hospitals? Noise, according to HCAHPS data” emphasizes, the loud equipment, beeping monitors and even squeaky wheels on catering carts are usually the first areas of focus for teams that are intent on reducing noise. But are these sounds the ones that really bother patients the most? Last week, I spent multiple hours in a conference room on a hospital nursing unit. Working with a team to identify issues and opportunities for improvement, an important part of our discovery phase was conducting individual and small group