Patient Feedback for Quality Improvement
As stated in the Healthcare Quality Book, “Patient satisfaction or patient experience of care surveys are the most common method used to evaluate quality from the patient’s perspective” (Ransom 2008). I am a strong believer that you can receive a lot of valuable feedback from patients. Many times healthcare organizations feel that patients do not have as much medical knowledge to make judgments on whether the healthcare they received meet the patients “quality” standards.

Just like many other industries, having customer (patient, in our discussion) feedback can help the business progress. Many companies have customer feedback surveys, via internet, written or even phone. It is crucial that the feedback surveys ask questions that will allow the patient to answer questions that will help the company improve. Asking questions that will not be beneficial to the overall success of the company are a waste of time. I feel that the surveys should always have a section where the patient can write down their own suggestions for improvements and what they did like within their experience within the healthcare facility.

Patient feedback surveys are also ways for the healthcare facility to know what they are doing well. If the surveys are just set up to be negative, this can cause a negative effect within the facility. When people feel that all you see is negative, they have the tendency to become defensive and the quality of work they are currently producing can decrease. Another reason why it is important for employees to know they are doing well, can allow the facility to have employee appreciation, by acknowledging the employees who are exceeding expectations.

Patient feedback is an important tool to help with the quality of care. Allowing patients to know that their suggestions, concerns, and positive comments are being heard, allows the patient to feel important. Healthcare would not survive without patients. If there was no need for patients, there would be no need for healthcare, so it is important for patients to feel as though they are valuable. They can feel this way through patient feedback surveys.

Source:
The Healthcare Quality Book, 2nd. Edition (2008), Ransom, E., Joshi, M., Nash, D., & Ransom, S. Helath Adminstration Press.