Patient Satisfaction Feedback

What is satisfaction? Can we measure it? How do we treat the difference between want and need? As soon as satisfaction is mentioned, the problems can start to occur... it’s a complex area, compounded by the fact that every interaction – including attempts to measure it – can affect the outcome.

There’s been an interesting change in the meaning of the word “satisfaction”, with the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary offering two relevant definitions. The Late Middle English “...action of fulfilling a desire or expectation...” contrasts with the 20th century psychology definition of “... satisfying a need or desire so that it no longer affects or motivates behaviour”.

So, taken in aggregate, we face the challenge of addressing:

• Desire
• Expectation
• Need

... which, in healthcare, may not necessarily be the same!

How can we do this?

Well, our first suggestion would be that you need to ask questions. Not too many... but more than just the one that Net Promoter Score methodologies advocate... the trick is choosing the right ones.

Second, we’d advise that you need to reach the widest possible cross-section of patients. However, to do this you’ll need access to a range of feedback channels. No one tool will accurately allow you to assess satisfaction and/or reach all of your patients.

Third, you need to account for bias – introduced through the feedback channel itself (social compliance can be a powerful thing... with scores in face to face situations often reflecting the desire to “say the right thing”) and as a result of participant self-selection (where only those with the most extreme views see the merit in providing feedback).

Lastly, you need to be consistent in your treatment of satisfaction feedback. We’d always recommend using the same solution across your entire organisation if at all possible. The same questions. The same scoring methodology etc...

Fortunately, FeedbackMatters (a unique solution that puts the patient at the heart of its design) can help by:

1. Delivering a consistent, patient-focussed, message that emphasises the importance and value of feedback
2. Providing a system that builds on patients’ goodwill by asking targeted, relevant, clinically developed questions... that emphasise your desire to learn about their experiences.
3. Recognising that a singly feedback channel won’t allow healthcare providers to gather patient satisfaction feedback across all patient groups and instead offering of a truly integrated multi-channel solution... and then applying (optional) bias compensation algorithms to help you really understand the views of patients
4. Offering the scalability and cost effectiveness necessary to undertake large-scale, continuous, patient satisfaction monitoring
5. Providing both frontline and management with an easy to use FeedbackConsole that presents information – not data – to aid understanding

In short, FeedbackMatters is the most comprehensive solution available. Interested? Visit FeedbackMatters’ main corporate site at www.crocodilio.com/FeedbackMatters