Patient experience with hospital care - Comparison of a sample of green hospitals and non-green hospitals

Abstract

Although the sustainability movement in the healthcare sector was initiated in response to ecological concerns, green hospitals are expected to outperform traditional hospitals on a variety of levels. The impacts of environmental quality on patients and caregivers are demonstrated in numerous studies. However, there is still a lack of evidence on the benefits of green hospitals with respect to different dimensions of patients’ experiences. In this study, data from the public Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey is used to compare the performance of green hospitals with the average performance of traditional hospitals. This study included 19 green hospitals and found that patients hospitalized in green facilities reported overall higher ratings than those in traditional hospitals when compared to the average performance of traditional hospitals of similar sizes and locations. Additionally, patients in green hospitals were more likely to recommend the hospital to their friends and family. However, relationships between specific green building features and patient experiences were not identified in this study.