I’ve started getting feedback from my patients on a regular basis. Most of the time patients tell me what a good job I am doing. Every now and then I’m surprised (and disappointed) by some very negative feedback. Still, I use that feedback to try to do a better job.
Getting feedback from customers is how businesses find out what they need to do to improve their service. Doctors should get feedback from patients more often. There are lots of ways to do it. A paper survey is one, albeit somewhat difficult to administer. There are a number of companies that offer easier solutions, and these also provide benchmarks so we can see how we are doing compared to other doctors.
Steve Feldman, MD, PhD, Winston-Salem.
at 4:19 am
Thanks for asking, Dr. Croley. I’ve been using an Internet-based patient satisfaction survey service called http://www.DrScore.com (I should mention that I started the company that owns the site). I give patients a DrScore.com card and ask them to rate me after they leave the office. They do the survey from home or from work, so there’s no paperwork for me or my office staff to deal with. The detailed report results are e-mailed to me every 3 months.
DrScore puts my overall patient satisfaction score on line for the public to see. I’m not at all worried about that, because patients tend to love their doctors. Most doctors score well over 9 out of 10 on patient satisfaction. Sadly, the public has no idea of this because good medical care isn’t news– the media tend to only report negative experiences.
I’m going to move this to a new thread, as otherwise it will be in an archive from September.
at 3:56 am
When do you give it to patients ?
Do you have patients mail them back (postcard, self addressed return envelope) or drop them off before leaving your building.
Thanks.
G. Croley MD
Concord, NC
[email protected]