The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has once again achieved high scores when it comes to patient satisfaction, according to the independent 2013 American Customer Satisfaction Index.

The 2013 ACSI assesses the satisfaction of Veterans who have recently been patients at the VA.  Since 1994, the ACSI has been a national indicator of patient evaluations of the quality of goods and services, including health care, available to U.S. residents.  They review customer feedback for both the public and private sectors.

The ACSI shows how  patients evaluate us  at the VA and identifies which activities have the greatest impact on their perception of the quality of care the VA provides.

"In addition to showing us what we’re doing right, the survey also shows us where we could be making some improvements.  We can use this important information to prioritize our future efforts to deliver the highest possible quality of care to our Veteran patients," according to a VA press release.

Some highlights from the survey:

• The 2013 ACSI index for inpatients recently discharged from a VA acute medical center holds at a strong 84 on a 0-100 scale.  This is four points higher than the industry average. The VA outpatient score of 82 is within one point of the industry average.
• As I mentioned earlier, customer service remains the greatest strength for VA with a score of 91. Medical providers and appointment personnel remain highly courteous with scores of 92 and 91, respectively. Medical providers are also highly professional, with a score of 90.
• For the third straight year, the 2013 index of Veterans’ Loyalty to VA-provided health care? remains at 93.  Respondents remain very willing to say positive things about inpatient care (91) and outpatient care (92).  They are highly willing to use a VA medical center the next time they need inpatient care (96) or outpatient care (95).
• The ACSI results also suggest several areas for improvement at VA.  Those include the clarity of information provided by our health care providers, in particular how we explain test results to our patients; and the accessibility of VA medical centers.

VA officials will use the feedback to guide their actions as they strive to make improvements in these areas.

As the 2013 ACSI survey results suggest, VA medicine is hitting many of the benchmarks to continue to be  a patient-centered system dedicated to providing the best care possible to Veterans.   America’s Veterans deserve nothing less.

For more information about VA health care visit http://www.va.gov/health/