Events Calendar

Epstein Institute / ISE 651 Seminar Series

Speaker: Liam O’Neill, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center

Talk Title: "The Happy Hospital: The Impact of Hospital Design and Capacity Management on Patient Satisfaction"

Series: Epstein Institute Seminar Series

Abstract: As mandated by the Affordable Care Act, part of a hospital's reimbursement (1 - 2%) is now based on patient satisfaction. The purpose of this research is to measure the impact of OM functions, such as capacity management, nurse staffing, and hospital design, on patient satisfaction. We distinguish between those organizational and environmental factors that are under management control vs. uncontrollable factors. The study was based on 155 Texas hospitals, including general acute care, teaching, specialty cardiac and orthopedic hospitals. Three databases were used in this study: AHA, HCAHPS, and THCIC. Private rooms, more nurses-per-bed, and physician ownership were associated with increased patient satisfaction. For-profit ownership, a high percentage of Medicaid and emergency admissions, and higher occupancy levels were associated with decreased patient satisfaction. Hospital managers can significantly improve their patient satisfaction scores -- and hence their bottom line -- by focusing on OM core functions, such as nurse staffing, bed utilization, and hospital design.


Biography: Liam O’Neill is an associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. His primary research interests are in health care operations and information systems, including hospital efficiency analysis, hospital marketing, technology diffusion, and managerial benchmarking. Before joining the faculty at the University of North Texas in 2006, O’Neill was on the faculties of the University of Iowa and Cornell University. He serves on the editorial board of Health Care Management Science and other journals and is past president of the Health Care Applications Section of INFORMS.


Host: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

More Information: Seminar-O'Neill.doc

Location: Von Kleinsmid Center For International & Public Affairs (VKC) - Room 100

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Georgia Lum