The Influence of Patient and Surgeon Characteristics on Press Ganey Provider Ratings in Plastic Surgery.

BACKGROUND: While patient satisfaction ratings are increasingly used as hospital and provider performance metrics, these ratings may be affected by factors extraneous to surgeon performance.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess whether outpatient Press Ganey ratings for plastic surgery providers were tied more to provider or patient characteristics.

METHODS: All Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Clinician & Group Survey (CG-CAHPS) responses for plastic surgery providers from 2017 to 2023 from a single institution were analyzed. Ordered logistic regression models were used to identify characteristics associated with provider ratings.

RESULTS: 6,442 surveys from 4,594 patients representing 29 plastic surgery providers were analyzed. Across the patient cohort, 23.2% (N = 1,492) rated plastic surgery providers lower than a 10/10. After adjustment, provider characteristics including provider gender, patient-provider gender concordance, and years in practice were not associated with overall provider ratings (all p > 0.05). In contrast, patient characteristics were associated with provider ratings. Older patient age [Odds Ratio (OR) 1.02; p < 0.001)] was associated with higher ratings. Finally, self-reported overall health and mental health were associated with lower provider ratings (both p < 0.05); specifically, mental health categories lower than 'Excellent' were associated with significantly lower provider ratings (Overall Mental Health 'Very Good': OR 0.57; 'Good' OR 0.53; 'Fair': OR 0.59; 'Poor' OR 0.55; all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Press Ganey ratings for plastic surgeons are influenced by patient characteristics, including age and mental health. As satisfaction ratings are increasingly used as performance metrics in plastic surgery, adjusted rating models may be needed to more accurately reflect surgeon performance.