Modern medical care is evolving at a breakneck pace. A key role is played not only by the quality of the services provided, but also by the ability to adapt and constantly improve on the basis of regular feedback from patients. Gathering feedback enables a deeper understanding of patients' needs, optimizing clinical processes, and achieving better therapeutic outcomes. In interviews with doctors conducted by the American Medical Association, many of them emphasize that receiving regular feedback from patients helps them better understand their expectations and needs. A significant group of doctors note that feedback helps them improve work efficiency and increase empathy in dealing with patients. In turn, doctors from clinics that have implemented digital feedback systems point to benefits in terms of improved collaboration with medical teams and faster therapeutic decisions.

In this article, we will therefore look at the most effective methods of obtaining feedback on treatment and discuss the benefits that this brings to both doctors and medical institutions. You will learn what methods of collecting patient feedback are currently available and the challenges of implementing these systems.

Methods of collecting feedback from patients

Feedback in the context of healthcare is the systematic collection of information from patients about their feelings and experiences related to the treatment process. It goes beyond the assessment of the organization of visits or communication with the doctor. First of all, it includes the subjective perceptions of patients regarding the effectiveness of therapy, comfort and overall health during and after treatment. Thanks to feedback, doctors can monitor the patient's reactions to therapy on an ongoing basis and observe changes in his condition. This is crucial for optimizing the treatment process and improving its outcomes [3].

Examples of feedback may include information about the effectiveness of treatment, subjective improvement in the patient's health, possible side effects, and a personal assessment of the progress of therapy. This form of communication between the patient and the doctor makes it possible to better adapt the treatment to individual needs and to respond more quickly to emerging problems. As a result, this leads to more effective and personalized medical care. So how do you effectively collect feedback from patients?

Online surveys

Online surveys are one of the most popular tools for collecting feedback from patients. They can be adapted to the specific needs of the clinic or department, allowing you to obtain detailed data on treatment, interaction with staff and overall quality of service. It is crucial to choose the right questions that will focus on different aspects of care, such as the effectiveness of therapy or communication with the doctor. Surveys can contain both closed and open questions, giving patients the opportunity to freely express their opinion (Survio).

Examples of tools:

• SurveyMonkey: a popular tool for creating online surveys, commonly used in hospitals and clinics. It allows you to create personalized surveys with a wide range of questions, including those related to the effectiveness of treatment.
• Google Forms: a simple and free tool, often used by smaller medical institutions. Allows you to quickly create survey forms.
• Qualtrics: an advanced platform for collecting patient feedback, widely used in the medical sector. It not only allows you to create surveys, but also analyze data in real time and generate reports.

Feedback via text messages

Short text messages are gaining popularity as a tool for getting quick feedback from patients. This form of feedback is particularly effective in assessing current aspects of the visit, such as the availability of a doctor, the waiting time or the quality of communication. Text communication (e.g. through medical instant messengers) allows doctors to receive immediate information, which allows them to react quickly and eliminate potential problems.

One of the latest trends in collecting feedback is the ability for patients to provide immediate feedback. Thanks to modern technologies such as mobile applications, patients can submit their feedback right after the appointment. Tools such as Doctor.One do allow you to monitor the health of patients between visits, and also offer the option to send short questions assessing the quality of care. This solution allows you to quickly analyze problems and tailor treatment to individual needs.

Patient satisfaction monitoring systems (CEM — Customer Experience Management)

Customer Experience Management (CEM) systems are used to continuously monitor patient experiences. These advanced solutions not only collect feedback on treatment, but also analyze data in real time. They provide comprehensive information about patient satisfaction, drawing from a variety of sources such as surveys, social media or SMS messages.

Sample tools:

• Presse Ganey: a leading provider of patient satisfaction monitoring tools used in hundreds of hospitals around the world. The platform comprehensively analyzes patient feedback from outpatient visits and hospitalizations, evaluating a variety of aspects of medical care.
• Medallion: a global CEM platform for collecting patient feedback from a variety of sources, such as online surveys and mobile apps. It is widely used in the healthcare sector, especially in the United States and Europe.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a popular method for assessing patient satisfaction that can also be used in the context of treatment. It involves asking one key question: “How likely are you to recommend our services to others?” Patients respond using a scale from 0 to 10.

NPS allows you to quickly gain an overall view of patient satisfaction and loyalty. It can also be adapted to assess treatment processes.

Examples of use:

• NPS Medal: a tool to measure patient loyalty based on one key question, widely used in clinics around the world.
• Qualtrics NPS: integrated with other Qualtrics tools to monitor patient satisfaction. NPS allows analysis of both loyalty and treatment effectiveness.

Benefits of regularly collecting feedback

Systematic collection of patients' opinions brings a number of benefits, directly affecting the quality of medical care and the efficiency of the work of doctors and health facilities.

Improving the quality of treatment

Patient reviews provide a rich source of information about the effectiveness of therapy and treatment processes. Physicians who regularly analyze feedback can more effectively tailor treatments to individual patient needs. Studies show that doctors who take into account the opinions of their patients are able to increase the compliance of treatment with recommendations by up to 18% (WHO Telemedicine Report).

Increase patient loyalty

Patients who perceive that their opinions are taken into account show greater loyalty to clinics and doctors. Systematic collection of feedback gives patients the feeling that they are being listened to, resulting in increased trust and increased regularity of visits. According to a report by Press Ganey, clinics using advanced feedback systems see a 15— 20% increase in patient satisfaction [3].

Optimization of clinical processes

Collecting feedback makes it possible not only to improve the quality of care, but also to optimize internal clinical processes. Feedback helps you manage visit schedules more effectively, leading to better utilization of resources. Clinics using feedback systems show a greater willingness to respond quickly to problems reported by patients. As a result, they significantly increase their overall performance (Bain & Company).

Challenges and Prospects

Doctors face numerous challenges in obtaining feedback from patients, especially when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of therapy, the effects of medications and the patient's overall well-being:

1. Communication Barriers: patients often have difficulty expressing their symptoms precisely or describing the effect of therapy. This may be due to language barriers, cognitive problems or the stress of a doctor's visit. These difficulties prevent doctors from adjusting the treatment plan based on the information they receive [1, 2].
2. Bias in reporting: patients' opinions may be distorted by their expectations or emotions. For example, a patient may report an improvement in well-being solely because he expects the effects of therapy, or vice versa - he may complain about the treatment because of the occurrence of side effects, even though the therapy is effective. Such cases make it difficult for the doctor to objectively assess the patient's condition [1].
3. Time Restrictions: the short duration of the visit often makes it impossible to discuss in detail the patient's response to treatment. Doctors have only a few minutes to gather accurate information about the effects of therapy or potential problems associated with medications [1].
4. Lack of standardized tools: despite the existence of tools such as patient satisfaction surveys or pain rating scales, they often do not cover all aspects of treatment - for example, the impact on the patient's quality of life. Standardized questionnaires collecting data on patient-reported treatment outcomes are crucial, yet still rarely used in everyday practice [2].
5. Motivating patients to provide regular feedback: despite the patient's initial consent to monitoring and feedback, maintaining regularity in this process is a challenge. Patients often forget to fill out surveys or answer questions. The physician must therefore develop an effective strategy that engages patients and encourages them to systematically share information. While this requires extra effort, it is crucial to ensure continuity of care.
6. Data protection and privacy: The collection of information about the treatment and well-being of patients requires compliance with privacy regulations, such as the GDPR. Physicians using digital monitoring systems must ensure that patient data is adequately secured. Concerns about information security may discourage some clinicians from making full use of advanced digital tools.

summary

Systematic collection of patients' opinions is the foundation of modern healthcare. The implementation of innovative tools — online surveys or mobile applications — allows doctors and medical institutions not only to improve the quality of treatment, but also to improve clinical processes and reputation management. Despite the challenges of data protection and information analysis, the benefits of regular feedback are undeniable. They lead to more effective and patient-centred medical care.

And what does it look like in your practice? Do you regularly collect feedback from your patients? If not, this may be the perfect time to start. With the help of modern tools and technology, this process is easier than ever before. The benefits — for both patients and healthcare facilities — are invaluable.

1. Deborah J Baldie, Bruce Guthrie, Vikki Entwistle, Thilo  Kroll,  Exploring the impact and use of patients’ feedback about their care experiences in general practice settings — a realist synthesis, Family Practice, Volume 35, Issue 1, February 2018, Pages 13–21, https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmx067
2. Gualandi, R., Masella, C., Piredda, M. et al. What does the patient have to say? Valuing the patient experience to improve the patient journey., BMC Health Serv Res 21, 347 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06341-3
3. Raport The evolving expectations of today’s healthcare consumer 2023, Press Ganey, https://www.pressganey.com/hx-insights/the-evolving-expectations-of-todays-healthcare-consumer/
4. Leung K, Lu-McLean D, Kuziemsky C, Booth R, Collins Rossetti S, Borycki E, Strudwick GUsing Patient and Family Engagement Strategies to Improve Outcomes of Health Information Technology Initiatives: Scoping Review J Med Internet Res 2019;21(10):e14683, https://www.jmir.org/2019/10/e14683
5. Arkesteijn K, Belopolsky AV, Smeets JBJ and Donk M (2019) The Limits of Predictive Remapping of Attention Across Eye Movements. Front. Psychol. 10:1146. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01146, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01146/full
6. SAGE Open Medicine, GDPR Compliance in Healthcare: Challenges and Best Practices, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2055207618774220
7. WHO Telemedicine Report

‍