ANCO's PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY

ANCO's patient satisfaction survey is a biennial activity occuring during even-numbered years.

The 2010 patient satisfaction survey enrollment period is in May. Download the enrollment letter/form here.

2008 PATIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY RESULTS:
ANCO MEMBERS RAISE SCORE, LOSE GROUND

Seven member practices participated in the 2008 ANCO-sponsored patient survey program, showing mixed results compared with our 2006 survey.

The following table shows progress in mean scores (on a 5-point scale) for all survey areas except staff performance.  For each mean score we've shown the percentile ranking in the oncology database (n=5,130):

Item/Mean (%-ile)	2006	2008
Appointment	4.42 (54.8)	4.50 (56.3)
Staff performance	4.69 (63.9)	4.69 (49.5)
Communication	4.46 (48.6)	4.49 (52.7)
Physician performance	4.68 (72.2)	4.72 (60.4)
Overall satisfaction	4.65 (55.3)	4.73 (52.4)

It is noteworthy that, while the aggregate score for "overall satisfaction" increased from 4.65 to 4.73, the percentile ranking declined, because the oncology database is steadily climbing upward as more physicians recognize the importance of patient satisfaction and implement formal customer service programs to compete more effectively for referrals from satisfied patients and referring physicians.

An analysis of the database by SullivanLuallin found that a step-wise regression showed that survey questions involving doctors and staff have the greatest effect on "overall satisfaction" and, by extension, future patient volume.

The implication for your oncology practice is significant--raising your "people" scores will also increase patient satisfaction with all other aspects of your practice. 

In this context, the good news is that raising physician/staff scores is also the least expensive practice marketing strategy, because it costs nothing to hold your people accountable for customer-centered performance.

So, what do you tell yourself and your staff?  Here are two examples:

• Physicians receive higher scores for "listening to patients" when they respond with empathy statements.

Patient: "I'm feeling more tired these days…"
Physician: "I'm sorry to hear that."

• Receptionists receive higher survey scores for "friendliness" when they greet arriving patients with a warm smile and welcome.

"Good morning, Mr. Blake, it's good to see you again."

As evidence, consider the experience of 16 physicians at Beaver Medical Group.  When they raised their average mean score for Section D ("Your Visit With the Provider") by .25, the mean score for Question A6 ("Waiting time in the reception area") increased by .31. (We know that physician performance was the only variable, because the time interval between surveys was three weeks.)

The strategic message for ANCO members is clear--congratulations are in order for the increase in scores compared with 2006. But the increasingly competitive market will not allow anyone to rest on laurels.

And to raise the stakes even higher, please consider that every major payer is pushing for making physician-level satisfaction data available to the general public within the next few years--thus putting a brighter spotlight on specialist and primary care physicians than ever before.

Needless to add, the time for anticipating a tougher environment is now--before patients become even more demanding and payers adopt more intrusive reporting policies.