The Influence of an Unexpected Symbolic Gift on Postoperative Arthroplasty Patients’ Press Ganey Scores

Introduction Hospitals use Press Ganey surveys to evaluate patient satisfaction. The goal of our study was to evaluate whether surgeon-driven gifting to patients post-operatively affects Press Ganey Survey responses. Methods There were 1,468 patients undergoing arthroplasty at our institution who were randomized to receive a thank you gift, a small bouquet of flowers, and a note from their provider after surgery, or nothing for completing their pre-operative arthroplasty registry questionnaire. Press Ganey surveys were sent to patients who received and did not receive flowers immediately after their hospital stay and after the patients’ first post-operative visit. Scores were reported as the mean score and the fraction of responses with a top-box rating. One-sided student t-tests and Fischer Exact tests were used to assess statistical significance. Results Hospital DischargePatients who received flowers had higher Press Ganey survey scores than patients who did not receive flowers. For example, for “Physician’s concerns for questions,” they had higher scores (mean difference: 3.7 ± 1.6 points, P = 0.012) and a 9% higher top-box rating (P = 0.032). For “Staff attitude towards visitors,” they also had higher scores (mean difference: 2.8 ± 1.3 points, P = 0.019) and a 7% higher top-box rating (P = 0.049).First Follow-upPatients who received flowers had a higher top-box rating for “Concern provider showed for questions” and “Amount of time provider spent with you” by 6% (P = 0.046) and 11% (P = 0.009), respectively. They also had higher scores for “Information provider gave about medications” (mean difference: 4.0 ± 1.6 points, P = 0.009) and 11% higher top-box rating (P = 0.006). Discussion Press Ganey Surveys were higher in orthopaedic patients who received bouquets of flowers from their arthroplasty surgeons compared to patients who did not. At follow-up, improved Press Ganey scores persisted if the patient received flowers. The gift of flowers generates patient loyalty to their surgeon.