Why Patient Satisfaction Might Be the Most Important Barometer of Your Practice

Measuring patient satisfaction in a healthcare setting might seem like a daunting task. Do patients, or “customers,” always know when doctors and clinical staff provide appropriate medical care? And even when they do, are they giving you a negative score because they had a hard time finding a parking space or because you were late attending to a sick patient?

As a result, physician practices - especially independent practices - might be tempted to think measuring patient satisfaction isn’t worth the effort or that it might not be meaningful.

However, getting patient feedback is vital for healthcare organizations of any size that are seeking to improve their operations.

At Alo and our Avance Care practices, patient satisfaction is one of the most important things we measure and evaluate. It helps us learn a lot about what patients expect, and we use the feedback to make improvements.

As a 25-year healthcare veteran and nurse, I want to share three important findings from our patient satisfaction measurement program at Alo. We think these principles can apply to all types of physician practices looking to improve the overall patient experience, which ultimately can have a bearing on improving health outcomes.

Why Measure: To Know Where to Improve

A lot of factors go into whether a healthcare encounter is positive or negative and whether patients see improvement in their health. Research shows that the quality of care provided is often correlated with such things as good communication from the provider, a focus on patient safety, and the well-being of the staff.

At Alo, our goal is to help providers and their patients thrive. We handle the business of medicine so that providers have more time to focus on their patients. And when everyone does their job well, the end result is satisfaction and a trusting provider-patient relationship with a plan for healthy outcomes.

When patients are willing to recommend us to their friends, we know we're doing a good job. The feedback provided helps us to continuously improve. If patients aren’t satisfied, we know we have work to do and can lean in and fix any underlying issues.

What to Measure: Patient Satisfaction

Measurement in healthcare can be complex. I’ve found that the simplest methods are probably the best. Alo measures patient satisfaction, which means that we want to know if we met our patients’ expectations. For most physician practices, this is a good starting point. You can always develop a more complex methodology for evaluating the entire patient experience, but there’s usually no need to do that without first understanding what your patients expect and how well you’re delivering against those expectations.

To measure patient satisfaction, we use two simple surveys: NPS (Net Promoter Score) and Google online reviews.

NPS is used by global enterprises and startups alike. It’s just one simple question: On a scale of 0-10, would you recommend this business to a friend or peer? Customers are then categorized based on their answer: promoters (9-10), passives (7-8), and detractors (0-6). To calculate the NPS score, the percentage of detractors is subtracted from the percentage of promoters. This results in a score ranging from -100 (all detractors) to +100 (all promoters), with higher scores indicating greater customer loyalty. In the healthcare industry, the average NPS score is +58. However, we set our expectations much higher and are proud to say that Avance Care clinics have always averaged a +77 or above, 30% higher than industry average. We monitor NPS scores month by month and location by location and look for trends to see if patients are satisfied.  

The other survey we use is also simple—the Google online review. We encourage all patients to leave an online review of their recent visit, rating it on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. These reviews are public and hold us accountable. We want these scores to reflect high patient satisfaction so that when potential patients are searching for a new provider or practice, they will see our providers’ scores and feel comfortable making an appointment.

How to Measure: Ask Patients for Feedback

If you’re a physician or practice manager who wants to start measuring patient satisfaction, an easy way to begin is to create a Google Business Profile and then ask your patients to go to the webpage and leave a review. You can prompt them with a card (with a printed QR code or URL on it) as they’re leaving their appointment or via an email or text. We use a service called Birdeye to ask our patients to leave reviews. This tool also aggregates the reviews and provides a dashboard we can monitor.  

Asking for reviews is critical because detractors, or unhappy patients, are much more motivated to go online and leave a negative review. You can have 19 out of 20 satisfied patients, but if only the dissatisfied one posts a review, your practice could have a hard time attracting new patients.

Also, if you are passive and don’t ask for reviews, you'll likely only get extreme ones. If someone has a good (but normal or uneventful) experience, they’re much less motivated to fill out a survey. Getting a large number of reviews will better capture those “normal” encounters so that your online score more accurately reflects the service you're providing. The more reviews you obtain, the more you’ll see that many things can factor into patient satisfaction. Maybe your signage is hard to see from the road or lobby or maybe someone doesn’t like the music that’s playing in the waiting room.

In addition to uncovering opportunities for improvement, you can also find out where your practice excels. We’ve seen reviews highlighting a provider with a “great bedside manner,” as well as a front-line staff member that is “always smiling” and “goes above and beyond.”

No matter the reasons, patients are more likely to share their feedback if they are encouraged to do so. Everyone likes to feel listened to—thank your patients for their feedback. Acknowledge and address negative reviews. You can even highlight positive reviews on your website or in your clinic (with your patients’ permission). This shows appreciation and encourages others to leave feedback.

By prioritizing patient satisfaction and actively seeking feedback, you can create a thriving healthcare environment where both patients and providers feel valued. This commitment to continuous improvement fosters trust and strong relationships, ultimately leading to better health outcomes for everyone.