A new study from Picis, the leading provider of information systems for the emergency department, operation rooms and intensive care units of hospitals, reveals perceptions of whether different healthcare funding models lead to significantly different levels of patient satisfaction. The Picis poll sought the views of more than 4,000 people across the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Spain. European healthcare is primarily funded by government, with differing levels of additional contribution in the form of social insurance. The U.S. model is a combination of private medical insurance (for individuals) and Medicare and Medicaid (for senior citizens and people with disabilities).
Public vs. Private: Separate but Equal?
The U.S. and U.K. funding models are among the extremes of the funding paradigm in the Western world, yet consumer perceptions in terms of quality of care delivered are remarkably similar. The Picis survey asked respondents if they felt that the quality of care delivered has improved or declined in the last 10 years in their country. The majority of respondents in the United Kingdom (68%), the United States (63%) and France (54%) reported that quality of care delivered by hospitals had either declined or stagnated in the past 10 years. Conversely, 66% of Spanish respondents believed the quality of care in Spanish hospitals has improved in the past 10 years.
Figure 1: Respondent ratings of quality of healthcare over the past 10 years.
Similarly, Picis asked whether people felt staff morale within healthcare has changed over the last 10 years. The majority of U.K. (65%), U.S. (47%) and French (70%) respondents reported a decrease in staff morale, whereas 62% of Spanish respondents reported an improvement.
Meanwhile, people who used the health service in 2008 were asked whether their experience had been positive or negative. Nearly half of all respondents had a positive experience, regardless of country:
| Positive | Negative | Neutral | Havent used | |
| United Kingdom | 48% | 10% | 23% | 19% |
| United States | 47% | 11% | 25% | 16% |
| Spain | 56% | 13% | 20% | 12% |
| France | 47% | 13% | 24% | 16% |
What's Broken, and How Do We Fix It?
As reported in the media, many people in Europe are of the opinion that the U.S. healthcare system is the most efficient in the world. Meanwhile, modernization programs in Western Europe have often been dogged by controversy as commentators question return on investment in high profile projects. According to the poll results, however, Americans themselves take a much more pessimistic view on the overall efficiency of healthcare during the last 10 years. Specifically, the majority of respondents in the United Kingdom (62%), United States (71%) and France (55%) reported that the healthcare service has decreased in efficiency or stagnated in the past decade. Meanwhile, 69% of Spanish respondents reported the reverse.
Figure 2: Respondent ratings of hospital efficiency over the past 10 years.
Respondents were also asked to identify the biggest cause of inefficiency in a hospital:
| Lack of Staff Coordination | Accessibility of Patient Information | Staff Absences | Interference from Management | Other | |
| United Kingdom | 26% | 5% | 8% | 41% | 11% |
| United States | 35% | 7% | 8% | 17% | 15% |
| Spain | 44% | 9% | 12% | 8% | 14% |
| France | 43% | 7% | 13% | 8% | 16% |
These results led Picis to ask poll respondents whether they believed that greater use of technology can make healthcare delivery more efficient. Despite negative media coverage, these results were far more positive and consistent. Consumers of all countries agree that technology can improve the delivery of healthcare services in each of the countries surveyed.
Figure 3: Respondent ratings whether technology can improve the delivery of healthcare services.
Within the last few years, there have been multiple media stories concerning loss of confidential personal data by government institutions. Picis wanted to understand if these stories have impacted consumer confidence and asked whether people trust hospitals to retain their personal data, such as health records, on file in electronic format, rather than in paper-based format. Respondents expressed confidence in their respective healthcare systems to maintain private health records in electronic format.
Figure 4: Respondent ratings for confidence in healthcare service to protect private health information in electronic format.
Individuals were also asked to provide their opinion on the major challenges facing healthcare in their respective countries to examine the overall consumer's perception. Respondents were asked to comment on a variety of challenges:
| Hospital Infection | Lack of Qualified Staff | Waiting Lists | Inefficiency | Other | |
| United Kingdom | 34% | 12% | 20% | 22% | 1% |
| United States | 10% | 19% | 12% | 26% | 25% |
| Spain | 3% | 12% | 73% | 6% | 6% |
| France | 24% | 43% | 21% | 4% | 6% |
"The actual consumer experience of healthcare is remarkably similar, and indeed positive, in the United States and the European countries that we polled. There are clearly considerable concerns about lack of staff coordination and the impact this has on staff morale. This is where technology will help, and is perhaps why the response from Spain is so positive, as a number of new hospitals have opened recently," said Liz Popovich, executive vice president of international operations at Picis. "People prefer to be treated in modern, efficient surroundings. People also work better in newer facilities with strong investment in infrastructure such as healthcare IT. Investment in healthcare, and the technology that underpins it, remains a subject of intense debate. The challenge is to ensure that money invested in healthcare is targeted at the areas where it can achieve the greatest return."
Related news articles:
- Picis' Profile
About Picis
Picis is a global provider of innovative information solutions that enable rapid and sustained delivery of clinical, financial and operational results in the acute care areas of the hospital. These high-acuity areas include the emergency department, operating and recovery rooms, and intensive care units. Picis offers the most advanced suite of integrated products focused on these life-critical areas of the hospital where the patients are the most vulnerable, the care process is the most complex and an increasing majority of hospital costs and potential revenue are concentrated. Headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts with European operations in Paris, Barcelona and London, Picis has licensed systems for use in more than 1,700 hospitals in 19 countries. More information is available at www.picis.com.