Patients' good and bad surprises: how do they relate to overall patient satisfaction?

The literature documents little research regarding patients' good and bad surprises in the hospital. Such experiences may inform a patient's future decisions about recommending or returning to the hospital. Utilizing a database of survey respondents, the authors conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses of patients' self-reported surprises about their hospital stay and the relationship between those surprise experiences and their overall feelings of satisfaction. Analysis of these data shows that patients do experience surprises during their hospital stays, that specific events are associated with these surprises, and that these surprises influence patient satisfaction. These results suggest that in order for health care providers to continuously improve and meet patients' needs and expectations, providers must determine steps to take to delight their patients, to avoid patient disappointments, and to meet patients' basic expectations.