Picker Institute Europe's approach
Picker Institute Europe pioneered the use of carefully designed survey instruments that obtain detailed reports of patients' experience and identify the improvements patients want.
Patient experience surveys: more than just satisfaction ratings
Examining experience
Patient experience surveys ask users specific questions about what happened to them during their recent healthcare experience. 'Report' style questions provide more useful information than satisfaction ratings because they highlight where the problems lie.
Traditional satisfaction or 'rating' style questions are less helpful as they do not provide a clear indication of what needs to be done to put things right.
For instance... Knowing that 12% of patients rate the service as fair or poor gives few clues about where to start to make the service better. More precise information about what went wrong, such as 9% of patients not being given an understandable explanation of their test results, is much more helpful.
Examining demographics
As well as focusing on patients' recent healthcare experience, patient survey questionnaires also include questions regarding age, gender and ethnic group (demographic questions) to help identify any inequalities of treatment.
Topics included in patient surveys
Patient surveys developed by Picker Institute Europe primarily cover eight quality dimensions which, through development work with us, patients have identified as being of crucial importance to them:
- fast access to reliable health advice
- effective treatment delivered by trusted professionals
- participation in decisions and respect for preferences
- clear, comprehensible information and support for self-care
- attention to physical and environmental needs
- emotional support, empathy and respect
- involvement of, and support for family and carers
- continuity of care and smooth transitions.