Have you had patients complain about your staff or the environment in your office?  These complaints can and do expose you to risk. It has been well published and validated by our claims experience that unsatisfied patients are more likely to seek legal recourse for an untoward event; while patients who are happy with your practice setting and staff are less likely to file a suit.

To make matters worse, a busy office, documentation demands, and patients with multiple medical conditions may make it difficult to focus as much attention as you may want on patient complaints. 

Practices where regular patient satisfaction surveys are conducted report that staff members learned  important information about how patients perceive their offices.  By using feedback from patients (and staff alike) you can focus on specific areas, such as:

·         Wait times to see the doctor

·         Office environment

·         Friendliness of your staff

·         How well phone calls are handled

Often it is the simple things that patients would like to see improved. By targeting specific issues, you can get a focused return each time you circulate a survey. One effective method of distributing a survey is at the receptionist’s counter. Encourage your patients to drop the anonymous questionnaire in a box before leaving. When you act on a patient’s suggestion(s), they feel they have contributed valued input to how the practice operates. It has been established that continually gauging patients’ likes and dislikes will help improve the overall practice.  Take time to review our sample patient satisfaction survey included in the Physician Office Practice Toolkit, available on our secure site for all current insureds.