December 1998 Bulletin

Patient satisfaction form should be short, simple

A good patient satisfaction survey should fit on the front and back of one page says Kevin W. Sullivan, of Sullivan/Luallin in San Diego. Each of the questions should be written so that the patient can answer on a five-point rating scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Questions should seek to answer the following questions:

• Staff. How did the patient relate to each staff person he or she came in contact with. (The survey should inquire about each position individually, using title rather than name to identify the various employees.)
• Communication. These questions should ask how well your practice kept the patient informed. Did the doctor return the patients calls? Did the patient understand the instructional materials given to him or her? Did he or she receive test results in a timely manner?
• Interaction with the physician. Did the physician listen to the patient? Did the physician answer the patient's questions? How thorough was the exam? Did the patient have a chance to express what was on his or her mind?
• Facility. Was the patient able to find the facility easily? Were the signs adequate? Was the facility comfortable? Was it comfortable?
• General. What is the patient's overall rating of the practice?
• Referral. Would the patient refer the facility to a friend?

How did you do? Sullivan says that if 85 percent of the responses were not in the "excellent" or "very good" categories, you have a problem. It would be very easy to take patients away from you.