Real Time Reports
We provide continuous real-time on-demand reports. These reports are all based on patient responses to a single question "What worked well and what needs improvement? (c)
Benchmarking
The computer classifies patient complaints into standard areas used to report satisfaction with care. These include complaints about making an appointment, wait time, physician's availability, physician's advice, nursing staff, receptionist, privacy issues, facility related, and other categories. Of course, many patients mention topics that do not fit these standard areas (e.g. parking). The following table shows how the data are displayed, benchmarking one unit against other units within the organization:
Table 1: Example Distribution of Complaints
|
Your Organization |
Peer Organizations |
||
|
Making an appointment |
5% |
10% |
|
|
Wait time |
11% |
1% |
|
|
Physician related |
|||
|
Time during visit |
16% |
10% |
|
|
Communication style |
5% |
30% |
|
|
Advice & treatment |
10% |
30% |
|
|
Nursing staff |
6% |
3% |
|
|
Receptionist |
7% |
5% |
|
|
Facility related |
21% |
5% |
|
|
Privacy related |
1% |
3% |
|
|
Other |
16% |
3% |
|
Public Report & Social Marketing
We report comments made publicly on the web so that the information can be found by patients using search engines. The vast majroity of comments are positive. Patients are more likely to visit a clinic after reading positive comments. Here is an example:
Figure 1: Example of Social Marketing
Word Clouds
Our survey does not force patients to fit their answers into predetermined categories. They can be heard in their own voice. They may complain about areas that are not listed in longer surveys (e.g. parking). To make sure that the report reflects all comments, we create Word Clouds. In these displays, the size of words or keywords used often is changed to reflect their frequency. Here is an example of words used by patients to complain about a mid-west hospital in United States.
Figure 3: Keywords Used in Complaints
Computer Alerts
If significant change in patterns of satisfaction has occurred, the computer alerts the clinic manager. Statistical process control tools are used to test whether there has been a statistically significant change. If there has, then an email is sent to alert managers to the change.
Control Charts
Our automated reports also display changes in pattern of comments over time. The following Figure shows an example of how data are displayed over time. This is done through display of control charts. Control limits can be suppressed, set based on historical patterns, set based on other units within the same organization or set based on performance of peer organizations. In this Figure, no control limits have been displayed. We see a change in rate of complaints within specialty care.
Figure 4: Rate of Complaints Over Time
