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The patient comment card: a system to gather customer feedback
E C Nelson1, C O Larson, A R Davies
1Hospital Corporation of America, Nashville, TN 37203.
QRB. Quality Review Bulletin
|September 11, 1991
Summary
The Patient Comment Card (PCC) effectively gathers patient feedback for hospital quality assessment. However, low response rates and biased scores necessitate cautious use of PCC data.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
- Patient Experience Measurement
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Continuous patient feedback is crucial for assessing hospital quality of care.
- Existing methods for gathering patient input require evaluation for reliability and validity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate the Patient Comment Card (PCC) for measuring hospital quality.
- To assess the reliability and validity of PCC-generated quality scores.
- To identify limitations and potential biases in PCC data collection.
Main Methods:
- The Patient Comment Card (PCC) was developed over two years.
- PCC was evaluated through three pilot tests with over 2,000 patients across five hospitals.
- A field trial in four hospitals assessed response rates and score validity.
Main Results:
- The PCC successfully elicits patient comments and generates statistically reliable quality scores.
- A field trial revealed low response rates (15%-27%) for the PCC.
- PCC quality scores were found to be upwardly biased, likely due to low response rates.
Conclusions:
- The PCC is a valuable tool for gathering patient feedback and measuring hospital quality.
- Low response rates and score bias indicate potential misinterpretations of PCC data.
- Healthcare providers should use tools like the PCC judiciously to avoid abuses and misinterpretations.