ANCO's PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY

ANCO's patient satisfaction survey is a biennial activity occuring during even-numbered years. The next survey is scheduled for 2012.

2010 PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY RESULTS:
ANCO MEMBERS SHOW SLIPPAGE IN PATIENT SATISFACTION

Six member practices (vesus seven in 2008) member practices participated in the 2010 ANCO-sponsored patient satisfaction survey, showing slippage in patient satisfaction when compared with our 2008 survey.

Twenty-nine participating physicians produced an ANCO database of 1,259 total responses (with a sampling error ±2.21%), thereby providing a reliable benchmark against which each participant can compare scores with peers. Here are the highlights, showing 2008-2010 trends on the five-point scale:

Item	2008 Mean Score	2010 Mean Score
Overall satisfaction with our practice	4.66	4.60
Would you recomend the provider	4.88	4.81
Aggregate physician score	4.73	4.70
Aggregate staff score	4.70	4.65

The down-trend happens at a particularly unfortunate time—all medical providers are likely to come under closer (and more publicly reported) scrutiny in the years ahead, with patient satisfaction as a component of Medicare Five-Star Quality Ratings and payers intensifying efforts to collect incentive awards. Further, patients are increasingly willing to switch providers based on whether they are made to feel valued and important during the visit. Survey scores are driven by performance, not processes; stated another way, provider and staff scores drive the response to every other question on the survey—even satisfaction with parking! Raising doctor/staff performance is the fastest and least costly strategy for raising patient satisfaction survey scores.