H aving heard the importance of providing patients excellent service, I’ve taken a great interest in patient satisfaction and its measurement. Getting feedback from patients is a great way to reassure yourself of the quality of the care you provide and to learn how to do an even better job. Looking at the scores my patients have given me, I felt really good about myself and about the care we provide in our office.

In fact, the scores have been terrific! Patients tend to love their doctors, and, thankfully, it appeared that I was no exception. Until last week. One patient really let me have it, giving me a
terrible score and telling me what a poor job I was doing. It really hurt to think about.

The First Stage: Denial
My first thought was, “Ouch!” You know, as doctors we’re committed to giving patients great care. So, it hurts deeply to have that quality questioned,especially by one of your own patients.

My next thought was that this patient doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He obviously didn’t understand how efficiently the right diagnosis can be made and how quickly the right treatment can be determined. He received fabulous care, I thought — too bad he didn’t recognize it.

Accepting Responsibility and Improving
It didn’t take me long, though, to realize it isn’t the patient’s fault when he or she thinks the care received wasn’t great. It’s not enough to make the right diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment. As the doctor, it’s our responsibility to communicate professionalism and quality.

Patients have a hard time judging whether the right diagnosis was made and whether the right treatment was prescribed. They didn’t go to medical school. They have a much easier time judging a medical practice on a host of other issues, from the parking lot and waiting room to the doctor’s attitude and communication skills. If we do a great job making sure patients see excellence throughout their experience with us, patients will have a better sense of the
quality of medical care they receive. For tips on how to improve your practice, turn to page 38 to read “Could Your Practice Be Better?”

Welcome All Feedback
So many patients give you great feedback; the positive reinforcement is a great motivator, a near constant reminder of the good you do as a doctor. Yes, it hurts when I think of that poor score, but the patient that gives me feedback about a poor experience is really doing me a favor, too, helping me do a better job for all my patients.

Steven R. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Editor