How to Use Surveys for Patient Satisfaction Ratings

Patient satisfaction surveys ensure a hospital is reaching its targets and knows how to improve further.

Patient satisfaction ratings are commonly used by hospitals and clinics to get an idea of the experience the patient had. The rating can be collected in many ways, but surveys are becoming an increasingly popular method, due to their ability to collect extra information. This information can then be used by the hospital to make improvements, and monitor the overall patient satisfaction over time.

Instructions

1. Consult with the relevant departments about what you wish the survey to include. For example, alongside asking how the person would rate their experience at the hospital, you could also ask if they would recommend the hospital to friends and family, and if they have any suggestions for improvements.

2. Test different methods of conducting the survey. You could print paper surveys and distribute these around the hospital, or post a copy to patients after they have been discharged. You could email a digital copy of the survey, or conduct a telephone survey. You could combine a few methods. Typically, asking people to complete the survey before leaving the hospital will result in the highest response rate. Ensure you tell people where to put their completed surveys, such as at the nurses' station.

3. Collect completed surveys regularly. How you do this will depend on how you are conducting the survey. Collect surveys completed on site from the location you asked patients to put them, commonly the nurses' station. Print any surveys which have been returned by email or telephone. You should collect completed surveys at least once a week.

4. Collate the results. You could use a spreadsheet to do this, or produce a short report at the end of each week. The report should contain all of the results from that week, including additional information such as suggested improvements.

5. Calculate your satisfaction rating monthly. Work out what the average rating is for the month, and also what percentage of people rated you eight or above. You may also wish to calculate how many people rated you below two, and follow up these ratings to see what went wrong.

6. Provide any additional information, such as suggested improvements and how many people would recommend the hospital, to the management. This information can be used during marketing campaigns, and may also highlight issues patients feel need to be fixed that the management was not aware of.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider asking for contact details on the survey. This would allow you to contact any patients who rate the hospital negatively, and improving their situation. It would also allow you to ask these patients how you could improve.

References

• "Talk and Interaction in Social Research Methods; Dr Paul Drew; 2006."
• "Research Skills for Management Studies; Alan Berkeley Thomas; 2003."