Restaurants, retail stores and hotels are just some of the customer-service related industries that use customer surveys to see how they can improve their service. Hospitals are now using the same survey process with their patients to see how they can improve the services they provide. Most patients are pleased with the new survey process because they feel their voice can be heard and they are able to state their opinions on their experience. Hospital staff is also happy about implementing the new patient survey process because they are able to get feedback on the way they are servicing the patients.
Most of the results of hospital surveys have revealed that patients between the ages of 35 and 49 are the least satisfied with their hospital experience. Most of these patients have stated that the most important thing to them when visiting a hospital is to feel that there is good communication between them and the hospital staff. Patients want to feel heard by nurses and doctors. They also want their concerns and complaints to be tended to and solved in a timely manner. Some of the common complaints patients wanted their nurses to solve for them included noise levels, meals and the responsiveness of the staff.
When developing the surveys, many hospitals ask the patients specific questions about the way they were treated during their hospital experience. By asking questions about the specific actions of the nurses, the hospital and staff have a better understanding of what is working for the patients and what may be making the patients feel uncomfortable.
Emergency room surveys have also proven to be useful for many hospitals to acknowledge some of the procedures they need to amend. The emergency department surveys also revealed that a younger age group was dissatisfied with their treatment in the emergency room. The surveys also showed that women had the most complaints with the emergency room process. One of the biggest complaints that emergency room visitors had was the excessive wait times. Many hospitals that have received feedback on their emergency room procedures have changed the process in order to make the wait times shorter. The emergency rooms that have achieved shorter wait times have also seen a change in their survey feedback. Patients are much more satisfied with their wait time and were able to give positive answers about wait time on the surveys.
The implementation of patient surveys in hospitals has led to many changes. After receiving specific feedback on the way the staff treats patients and the way the hospital is run, some hospital managers have hired n consultants to help improve their staff and procedures. These consultants were able to troubleshoot the processes that patients go through and the procedures the hospital staff must adhere to. Changes in the meal preparation, the communication between staff and patients and the timing of doctor and staff visits has proven to make the hospital experience more pleasant for patients. Patient surveys give hospitals a way to know what is working and what needs to be changed in the hospital environment.
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