National Poll: Patients Say Hospital Systems Deliver on Care Coordination, Accessibility & Responsiveness

WASHINGTON (October 23, 2023) – The nation’s hospital systems overwhelmingly meet patient expectations when it comes to receiving care reveals a new national poll from Morning Consult and released by the American Hospital Association (AHA).

The survey found that health care systems — defined in this survey as organizations that include at least one hospital and at least one physician practice — facilitate ease of care and accessibility and provide peace of mind to patients who seek specialists or believe they may need complex care in the future.

“It’s no surprise that patients are satisfied with the hospital systems in their community for their integrated care, accessibility, and efficiency,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “Hospital systems play a pivotal role in preserving and advancing care in communities and are always searching for better, more effective ways to improve the overall patient experience. This new poll reflects that.”

Patients applaud hospital systems for being:

Coordinated

• 83% of patients agree their hospital system made it easier for their providers to coordinate care on their behalf
• An overwhelming 89% like that their care comes from the same place instead of a patchwork of providers

Accessible

• Nearly all patients (91%) surveyed cited the ability of their care team to easily access their medical history, lab results or other essential health information as a benefit of receiving care in a hospital system
• 8 in 10 patients (82%) agree their care within a hospital system was efficient and accessible
• Nearly 9 in 10 patients (89%) find comfort that their hospital system has specialists or provides complex care that they may need in the future

Responsive

• Most patients said it was easy to get a referral (82%) and a specialist appointment (84%) or other care provider within their hospital system
• 90% of patients said their lab work or test results were processed in a timely fashion

This poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Hospital Association from August 24-29, 2023, among a national representative sample of 2,006 health system patients. Interviews were conducted online. Results have a margin of error plus or minus two percentage points. Learn more in this infographic about patient perceptions with hospital systems.

About the American Hospital Association (AHA)

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners – including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers – and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.