Online patient experience ratings provide radiologists with critical feedback for improving performance, as well as a unique opportunity to communicate imaging’s overall role in patient care, according to an article in ARRS’ American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).[1]
Patient surveys are conducted so healthcare organizations can get a better understanding of how they are performing in the eyes of their customers. The results are used to improve care delivery by identifying issues in the patient care process. Radiologists are not always included in these types of surveys because they often do not interface directly with patients during visits. But this study shows radiologists involved in direct patient care are leaving favorable impressions at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
“Radiologists scored highly on patient experience surveys when evaluated on encounters involving invasive procedures, achieving scores similar to those for other physicians,” wrote corresponding author Neena Kapoor, MD, a radiologist with the Harvard Medical School-affiliated institution in Boston.
Analysis of Patient Survey Data on Radiologists
Kapoor and colleagues conducted the retrospective study by collecting data between May 1, 2017, to Nov. 30, 2018, in the outpatient setting of Brigham and Women's Hospital. After each visit, patients were emailed the Press Ganey Medical Practice Survey, which includes 10 questions regarding a patient's experience with a specific provider during the visit. Post-encounter radiology surveys were sent to patients if an image-guided invasive procedure was performed.
Based on these single-institutional surveys, where the results were published in an online provider directory, radiologists had similar overall scores as nonradiologist physicians (95.6 vs. 95.9).
Additionally, scores increased for radiologists (from 94.2 to 97.1) and nonradiologists (from 95.7 to 96.3) during the 19-month study period. The authors believe the increases might be related to the online posting of updated survey results throughout the study period. The researchers concluded the findings of the study support the utility of implementing patient experience surveys in radiology.
The patient response rate to the surveys was 18% (96,057 out of 533,983 patients contacted). For the 10 individual questions, scores ranged for radiologists from 94.6 (time spent with patients) to 96.8 (friendliness/courtesy), and for nonradiologists from 94.6 (time spent with patients) to 97 (friendliness/courtesy). For radiologists, the largest improvement in the numbers was for instructions regarding post-procedure follow-up care (91.4 to 97.4)
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Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com