Patient Satisfaction Surveys Yield Better Performance Ratings

About 80% of medical practices that utilized patient satisfaction surveys are determined to be “better-performers” by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). According to MGMA, these practices also measured patient satisfaction on a more frequent basis.

These surveys were used to understand how patients felt about their performance, MGMA said. Through these surveys, practices were able to better understand what patients thought about their “professionalism of the staff, availability of appointments, and quality of care.”

Additionally, more than half of these performers “used patient-satisfaction surveys to evaluate and improve practice operations and educate staff and physicians about behavior,” MGMA reported.

Kenneth T. Hertz, FAMCPE, principal of MGMA Health Care Consulting Group said that these surveys give practices the opportunity to improve their services.

“Patient satisfaction surveys give practices an immense amount of detail on their patients' experience, and that feedback is particularly useful as medical groups seek to improve and elevate the care they provide,” Hertz said.

The use of surveys also allowed 10% of better-performing medical practices to create compensation models, MGMA reported. Results of the survey indicated that measuring quality and patient satisfaction was still a small part of total compensation for physicians — although they were growing as a component of compensation.

Martha Kelley, an administrator at, Virginia Anesthesia & Perioperative Care Specialists said that using surveys have been effective for compensation and overall efficiency.

“We share results from our patient-satisfaction survey with the hospital, and this metric now ultimately impacts physician compensation. We appreciate the feedback we receive and are continuing to explore ways in which to serve patients better,” Kelley said.