PATIENT SATISFACTION
Your principal concern as a physician is to provide quality health care to your patients.
In addition, you should ensure your patients have a satisfactory experience when
visiting your office. As a health care professional and businessperson, you want
patients to go away with a good impression of your office.
The Kentucky Medical Association Managed Care Committee and Medical Manager
Advisory Group have assembled the enclosed information to assist physicians with
ensuring patient satisfaction beyond the care the patient receives directly from the
physician. The packet includes general information and suggestions, along with sample
forms and checklists you may want to adapt to your practice.
The Kentucky Medical Association hopes this information is helpful to your practice.
 Kentucky Medical Association, 2008
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
T
he goal of any physician practice is to provide quality health care to patients. But another
goal is to maintain a successful business, which enables a physician to continue to provide
quality health care. Today, physicians encounter many obstacles as businesspeople, whether
having to comply with a myriad of laws and regulations, or fighting with insurance companies to
obtain payment. In some of these areas, physicians believe they have little control.
But physicians still have control over certain aspects of their practices that allow them to
maintain a successful business. As a service-oriented business, many aspects of a physician
practice that have little to do with quality health care, but have a great deal to do with “customer
satisfaction” can be easily addressed. In any service-oriented business the “little things”
certainly matter. The appearance of the waiting room, the friendliness of the staff, patient
waiting times – all of these things can be easily addressed to ensure patients are happy with
their visits and not hesitant to return.
What are some of the “little things” you can do to ensure customer satisfaction? First, walk into
the waiting room of your practice during business hours and look around. What do you see? Is
the waiting room a mess? Are magazines strewn about? Are there small bits of trash on the
floor? Is it too hot or too cold? Are the light bulbs working? Is the staff friendly? It might be
helpful to have a staff member or office manager periodically circulate through the waiting room
with a checklist of items, such as:
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Cleanliness of reception area
Check dates of magazines
Stained carpet/furniture
Broken furniture
Light bulbs
Cleanliness of restrooms
You may even want to have a member of your staff sit in the reception area to listen to what
patients say about the practice. Negative comments made by patients to other patients are
sometimes the most damaging since they are being made to others. If such comments are
made, know about them and address them.
Other tips for improving the waiting area include:
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Have something for patients to read or do while they wait. Have up-to-date magazines
or health information. The Kentucky Medical Association Public Education Committee
publishes Mediscope, a newsletter for patients. The Kentucky Medical Association
Patient Safety Task Force also published a flyer aimed at patients to help them avoid
common medication errors. These and other public health publications can be easily
obtained, reproduced and set out for patients to review while they wait. And, of course,
magazines such as People are also quite popular.
Have something for small children to read or play with while they wait. Even if you do
not see many children, some parents are forced to bring their children with them when
they visit a physician.
Have a water cooler for patients to use. Some patients are quite nervous visiting a
physician and may want a cup of water. In many instances, there is nothing for them to
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drink while they wait. You might be surprised how much a small cup of water can
provide you in patient satisfaction.
Are your bathrooms handicap accessible? Not only is this a patient satisfaction issue,
but it can be a legal one as well. The Americans With Disabilities Act requires that
businesses open to the public have handicap accessible restrooms.
Do your patients know which physician they saw? Many patients don’t know the name
of their physician. Consider putting photographs of physicians in your waiting room so
your patients will know whom they saw. You might even want to put physician business
cards in the waiting area.
How do your employees appear to your patients? Some practices encourage patients to
comment on staff members using written surveys or a comment box. Let your patients
tell you how courteous and hard working your staff might be. If you receive bad
comments, address them with appropriate staff. If you receive good comments, let the
staff know. A little encouragement will go a long way.
How long do your patients wait before being seen? Waiting time is one of the biggest
complaints made by patients. Consider tracking waiting times so you know how long it
takes for a patient to be seen. A simple tracking system could be used by your staff
which would provide you with good information about waiting times. A chart such as the
following might be helpful:
WORKSHEET FOR ANALYSIS OF PATIENTS'
WAITING TIME IN RECEPTION AREA
Date: _______________________
PATIENT'S NAME

TIME ARRIVED
TIME ESCORTED TO
EXAM ROOM
NUMBER OF MINUTES
ELAPSED
Total number of elapsed minutes:
____________

Total number of patients:
____________
=
Average waiting room time
calculated per patient:
____________
Finally, consider surveying your patients. Some practices have patients fill out surveys
with specific questions to answer, while others simply ask for comments. Attached is a
sample patient questionnaire you may want to adapt to your office.
These are some of the actions you can take to ensure your patients have a satisfactory
experience when visiting your office. The KMA encourages you to find out what patients think of
your practice so you can address the issues before they affect you.
SAMPLE PATIENT QUESTIONNAIRE
[INSERT PRACTICE INFORMATION]
Please circle the most appropriate answer for each question, one (1) is poor and five (5) is excellent.
Poor
Excellent
Not Applicable
Your ability to reach us by phone
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Courtesy of staff in taking your call
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Convenience of office hours
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Availability of desired appointment
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Appearance and cleanliness of reception/waiting area
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Courtesy of receptionist upon arrival
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Length of waiting time in receptionist area
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Appearance and cleanliness of exam room
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Length of waiting time in exam room
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Attitude and helpfulness of medical assistants
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Length of time spent with the physician
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Willingness of physician to answer questions
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Answers to questions about insurance and payment
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Ease of arranging follow-up visits
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Assistance with referrals to other physician offices
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
Overall satisfaction with the practice
1
2
3
4
5
N/A
How could we improve our service? ________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Is there an employee or physician you would like to compliment? _________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Would you recommend our office to a family member or friend? [  Yes  No ] If no, why not? ________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Which physician did you see during your visit? ________________________________________________
OPTIONAL
Name ______________________________ Appointment date ____________________________
--Thank you for your comments --