Capturing patient experience: a qualitative study of implementing real-time feedback in primary care

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Research
• Health Services Management
• Patient Experience Measurement

Background:

• Hospitals increasingly use real-time feedback for patient experience.
• Primary care settings underutilize this technology.
• Real-time feedback offers potential for prompt service improvement in general practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify barriers and facilitators to implementing real-time feedback in general practices.
• To understand staff perspectives on real-time feedback systems.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study within an exploratory trial of real-time feedback.
• Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 28 practice staff.
• Thematic analysis using normalisation process theory constructs.

Main Results:

• Staff engagement with real-time feedback varied significantly.
• Effective team communication correlated with positive staff attitudes.
• Feedback timing influenced patient engagement; relevance to practice needs is key.

Conclusions:

• Successful real-time feedback implementation hinges on effective team communication and engagement.
• Feedback processes must align with patient and practice routines.
• Future research should focus on content relevance and inclusive patient participation.