Do You Know What Your Patients Think About You?

Ray Foxworth, D.C., FICC, MCS-P

Patient satisfaction in your practice is essential to improving the quality of care and success in your office. Modern-day patients have high expectations when it comes to getting the care they need. They expect their visits to be efficient, convenient, and the doctor to be timely. They want the doctor and staff to speak clearly (in layman’s terms), be responsive to their questions and needs, and eliminate any surprises when it comes to billing and insurance. When asked, many chiropractors and their teams stated that their patients were delighted with the patient experience in their office, but when asked how they knew… well, they “just knew.”

Technology offers many ways to measure patient satisfaction without adding a lot of unnecessary burden on the doctor or staff to collect additional information at each visit. Digitally-delivered surveys can quickly be completed over a smartphone or laptop and can be insightful for measuring the quality of care provided at each visit. As a provider, you want to know:

1. When you called the clinic to make an appointment, were you offered times that were convenient for you?
2. Did you receive a reminder (call/text/email) for today’s visit?
3. How long did you wait before seeing the doctor?
4. If more than 10 minutes, did the team make you aware of any delays?
5. Did you find all team members helpful during your visit?
6. Did the doctor listen to your concerns carefully?
7. Did the doctor explain things in a way that was easy for you to understand?
8. Did a member of the team discuss insurance coverage and your out-of-pocket expenses related to this visit and future visits?
9. Do you have any questions or concerns that haven’t been addressed?
10. Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst experience possible, and 10 is the best experience possible, how would you rate your visits to the practice?

Consistently surveying your patients on their experience in your office will let you know what you are doing right and what needs improvement. It can also highlight specific problems that you may not have been aware of in your practice. Additionally, it will help improve patient confidence in you, your staff, the treatment they receive in your office, and their outcomes. It demonstrates your integrity as a doctor and practice by telling your patients that you put them first in your office.

Rick Riordan is often quoted as saying, “Suspecting and knowing are not the same.” After 33 years in practice, I like to have data that supports what I presume to be accurate. Tracking this information will help you, your team, and your patients. It will also empower your staff to handle and resolve patient issues quickly and efficiently, develop empathy for the patients that rely on you for help, and better anticipate your patients’ needs. Evaluate your patient survey results at your weekly meetings to isolate problem areas and develop systems that help to improve patient satisfaction in your practice. For more ways to improve your practice, register for one of our free weekly webinars at chirohealthusa.com/webinars.