OBJECTIVES

Patient experience is an important metric of hospital performance, both in its own right and due to its association with good processes and a range of positive outcomes. Little is known about the impact of crisis situations on patient experience, such as in the COVID-19 pandemic, where extraordinary measures were necessary to maintain healthcare provision.

METHODS

We performed multilevel and multivariate regression to evaluate the differences in hospitalisation experience before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in Tuscany and Veneto, regions differently affected by the pandemic. Experience was measured by continuously collected online Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs), with 8,712 questionnaires collected from January-April 2020.

RESULTS

Almost all PREM scores increased in the COVID-19 period compared to the two months preceding. Multilevel analysis showed very low, nonsignificant variation in overall satisfaction and Willingness-to-Recommend (WOM) between hospitals in the same region, controlling for health status, sex, age, and first incidence of COVID-19 in the region. Multivariate regression models, including demographic factors only, found increased WOM in the worse affected region. By including relevant PREM items, we found the items most predictive of WOM changed during pandemic situations, with a greater effect and significance for items associated with emotional support and communication (e.g. having fears and anxieties addressed by clinicians [0.25, p=0.07; 0.46 p=0.03]) alongside reduced effect sizes and higher p-values for items most affected by pandemic control processes (e.g. ward silence [0.47, p=0.04; 0.14, p=0.45], communication with relatives [0.3, p=0.02; 0.005, p=0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

Hospitals in Tuscany and Veneto were able to provide a positive patient experience in the COVID-19 pandemic, despite operating challenges. Patient expectations of their hospitalisation may have changed through awareness of the wider health crisis. The different factors most predictive of WOM during the pandemic may be explained by patient recognition and understanding of the great efforts and professionalism of healthcare professionals.