Patient satisfaction is critical in today’s competitive environment. Physical therapy patient surveys are a great tool for measuring patient satisfaction. The data collected through physical therapy patient surveys is used both for setting service standards and as a physical therapy marketing tool.
Studies show that only 5% of dissatisfied customers file a complaint; and the remaining 95% ignore the issue or remain silent.
This has massive repercussions for your practice.
Physical therapy patient surveys help these 95% express their opinions. Patient satisfaction surveys provide an overview of patient opinions, overall levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, expectations, and loyalty with the organization.
Patient surveys are effective in identifying areas that are weak and reinforcing areas that are successful within a physical therapy clinic. They also allow an organization to benchmark internally and externally, set service standards for physicians, and promote standards among employees.
For a patient satisfaction survey to be effective, the owners or the management of a physical therapy business practice must create an environment that is open to quality improvement. All staff members should be encouraged to be a part of the creation of the satisfaction survey. Employees should be educated about the patient satisfaction survey process, the manner in which it should be administered, and its benefits. Management and employees should be prepared to receive both negative and positive feedback. Low scores should be used to create improvement projects and high scores should reinforce successful projects.
Patient satisfaction surveys should not be used as standalone tools but instead should be part of continuous improvements being made. By mapping how satisfaction measures change over time, organizations can identify trends and plan accordingly. Physical therapy patient surveys should be an ongoing process for a practice to maintain quality and provide optimal service.
