Patient-Centered but Employee Delivered: Patient Care Innovation, Turnover Intentions, and Organizational Outcomes in Hospitals

Abstract

Hospitals are increasingly experimenting with workplace innovations designed to improve the quality of patient care, alleviate financial pressures, and retain staff. The authors examine one such innovation, patient-centered care (PCC), and its effects on clinical and employee outcomes in hospitals in the United Kingdom. Employing PCC entails a shift from an institutional and physician focus to one that emphasizes patients' needs and preferences. Drawing on a combined dataset covering the period 2001–2005 that includes 173 hospitals belonging to the British National Health Service as well as employee and patient survey data, the authors examine how hospital use of PCC affects patient care, perceptions of care, and employee outcomes. They find that greater use of PCC has positive consequences for hospital error rates and perceptions of care. They also find that PCC is associated with lower turnover intentions, which are positively related to the quality of care. The effectiveness of PCC is enhanced when complemented by the use of high involvement work practices.