A piece in Medical Economics warns of over-reliance on patient-satisfaction surveys.
It says, among other things:
“What used to be a frank discussion with a care provider or a staff member to improve practice operations is now another piece of data used to judge a physician’s effectiveness via spreadsheets and quality metrics. Patient-satisfaction surveys have replaced the ‘voice’ of the patient. The surveys inform payers, employers and anyone else with access to the results how patients really feel.
“And like most data, it can be manipulated in ways that undermine the purpose of its collection in the first place.
“Patient-satisfaction surveys are here to stay and, used correctly, can perhaps add value. But with all the information available today to patients, they will simply ‘rate’ you with their feet, leaving for another provider if truly dissatisfied—no survey necessary, saving everyone a lot of time and energy.”
To read the article, please hit this link.
