According to data from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ASCI), patients-as-consumers attitudes toward healthcare delivery in acute hospitals are not as robustly positive as hospitals would like.^[1] Data show that consumer satisfaction with hospital services is down by about 5 percent from last year. Ambulatory healthcare services in the healthcare marketplace remain high, however, with satisfaction scores hovering around 80.

The lower than average scores for the healthcare economy brings down the average ASCI score overall. As the economy has stabilized, most — if not all — sectors showed an increase in consumer confidence. Consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the general economy. Of course, healthcare is as much as revenue generator as anything else; but declines in such a major player in healthcare systems’ bottom lines may be the start of policy discussions geared toward costs of care in the age of reform. | LINK

1. The ACSI was founded at the University of Michigan as a scientific analysis and quantification of customer satisfaction with the goods and services consumed in the United States.  It is a proven indicator of consumer spending and has been linked to stock price peformance. [↩]

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