What do your patients really think about your providers and staff, and do they truly feel like their needs were met? You don’t have to guess to determine what your patients think about your facility, the people who greet them when they arrive and even your providers and service. A patient feedback survey allows you to ask what your patients think and gives you a clear idea of your performance in a variety of areas. A survey can uncover what your team does best – and what needs to be improved – so you can make any changes you need to.
What is a Patient Feedback Survey?
This short, written or online document allows your patients to freely state how they felt after a recent appointment and gives you insight into how well your overall brand is performing. By collecting data from a variety of patients, you can start to see trends emerge in the way your patients respond to your practice, office and care. You can use this data to serve up more of what they love and to make any changes you need to.
What Should I Ask?
You can ask anything, but limit your survey to just a few questions to keep it manageable. You can always change up your survey after you have some results to ask different questions. Some typical and useful survey questions include:
- Is it easy for you to get to and around our office?
- Was the facility clean and well maintained?
- Did you feel like you waited too long to be seen?
- Did the office staff make you feel welcome and treat you with respect?
- Were you happy with the amount of time your provider spent with you?
- Did your provider meet your expectations today?
- Did our staff work to preserve your privacy?
- Did your provider answer your questions?
- Is there anything we can do to improve?
Choosing 3-5 of the above questions is enough for one survey and will allow you to effectively collect data. You can offer the survey in paper form, online or even via mobile device; not all patients will take the time to complete it, but the ones who do will give you some valuable insight into your procedures and how well you are connecting with those who visit your practice.
What Do Patients Want?
According to recent research from the Cleveland Clinic, most patients have three simple concerns when asked about satisfaction:
- They want to be respected and heard
- They want to understand what the provider is doing and telling them
- They want a pleasant, approachable healthcare provider
The practice had conducted the survey because they were concerned about wait times; they were surprised by the results, which revealed the biggest patient concerns dealt with communication and personality, not timeliness or waiting.
The best way to tell what your patients really want and what they really think is to simply ask them. Not all patients will answer, but those who do will provide you with valuable insights into your practice performance.
Make sure your patients are pleased with every part of the process, including your billing. Contact me at 770-666-470 or email me at patrick.dougherty@m-scribe.com to learn how easy it is to ensure your coding is correct and that every communication your patients receive is accurate and easy to understand.
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