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REALLY annoying patient satisfaction survey from PRC

Posted By: Susie Eaton meta_seperate Date Posted: March 8th, 2010 meta_seperate Category:

Telephone survey is way too many questions. Twenty five questions! and after EACH ONE the same instruction ” Based on your experience, would you rate your care as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair or Poor”. Someone who can’t remember the instructions they just heard 10 seconds ago probably can’t participate in a survey very well anyway. It doesn’t matter that BJC is happy with their survey tool and has used it for years, it doesn’t matter that the interviewer follows the established protocol……it matters that the survey is annoying, patronizing and leaves a happy patient less happy than they were BEFORE they got the survey call. Please shorten the survey to about 10 questions and stop the repetious instructions!


2 Comments


Comment By: Frances Whitman meta_seperate Date & Time: March 9, 2010 at 9:50 am

Surely there are better ways to survey patient satisfaction than a post visit phone call! Many times, these surveys are the only opportunity for a patient to voice a complaint or concern about their care. Wouldn't it be a better idea to ask me these questions while I'm in the hospital? With all of the new technology these days, the surveys could be conducted in real time and any issues could be addressed immediately.

Comment By: Jason Vander Weele meta_seperate Date & Time: March 12, 2010 at 1:57 pm

Susie,

I agree. Survey design is an art – not a science. I think too frequently we see organizations using tools in a certain way because it is the way its always been. An easy way your specific issue could have been solved would be to ask, at the very beginning of the survey, "Do you wish to hear the instructions once? or for each question?". That puts the control and responsibility for completing the survey properly in the patient's hand – not in the hands of the analyst.

I think these tools should use focus groups before going live, and also I think the analysts should be required to have test calls sent out to their homes, so they can understand what it is like to have to answer all those questions at home, with other things going on.

Context is important.