AHA issues guide for improving the patient experience through the physical environment

One way for hospitals to improve patient satisfaction is to focus on their physical environment, according to a new guide by the AHA’s Hospitals In Pursuit of Excellence initiative and American Society for Healthcare Engineering. “[E]very aspect of a patient’s experience of care is influenced by valuable and often underused resources: the health care physical environment and the people who manage it,” the organizations note. The guide explains how the physical environment affects the patient experience and provides a model, case studies and resources to help hospital leaders take a comprehensive approach to patient satisfaction.