Exploring the Determinants of Patient Experiences Using the Digital Topic Modeling Approach

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Experience Research
• Health Informatics

Background:

• The shift towards patient-centered care necessitates improved patient experiences.
• Current efforts show modest results due to a lack of understanding of patient expectations.
• Identifying key factors influencing patient expectations is crucial for healthcare improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore determinants of patient experiences by analyzing patient feedback.
• To assist healthcare institutions in prioritizing service enhancements.
• To identify actionable insights for improving patient satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• Digital topic modeling on patient feedback from the National Patient Experience Base.
• Sentiment analysis using SnowNLP and XGBoost classifier.
• Topic clustering with BERT and X-means, followed by TextRank keyword extraction.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 4689 patient feedbacks from 226 hospitals.
• Identified 10 clusters, with 2 positive and 8 negative sentiment clusters.
• Distilled patient experiences into five key determinants: treatment, service, environment, economic, and process.

Conclusions:

• A holistic approach is vital for enhancing patient experience.
• Healthcare providers must address clinical, service, environmental, economic, and process factors.
• Prioritizing these determinants helps tailor services to meet patient expectations and boost satisfaction.