Patient feedback provides direct insight into what’s working, what’s not, and where friction exists.
Patient experience is built over time. Each call, appointment, follow-up message, and interaction influences whether or not patients feel supported throughout their care journey. Improving that experience starts with intentional, attentive listening to patients and their feedback.
Patient feedback provides direct insight into what’s working, what’s not, and where friction exists. Actively seeking out and acting on feedback is crucial to delivering better care, strengthening trust, and improving health outcomes—all of which ultimately contribute to creating a thriving practice with a community of satisfied patients.
Patient Feedback: A Direct Line to Better Care
Think of patient feedback as a window into how they experience your practice. By taking this perspective, you can tap into feedback to reveal gaps that may not be obvious from an operational or clinical standpoint, including:
- Confusing instructions, unclear or lacking communication
- Discomfort or anxiety during visits
- Barriers to access, scheduling, or follow-up
- Missed opportunities to connect
- Breakdowns in trust or confidence in care plans
These gaps directly affect outcomes and can leave patients feeling rushed, confused, or, at worst, unheard. This will make them less likely to follow treatment plans, attend follow-up appointments, or share concerns openly.
Fortunately, patients who feel listened to and understood are more engaged and committed to their care. Studies have found positive associations between provider communication skills and health outcomes for patients, including blood pressure readings, depression, and overall patient distress. Ultimately, patient-centered care begins with understanding patients’ perspectives at the clinical, emotional, and practical levels.
3 Most Common Ways Patients Share Their Feedback
The most effective feedback strategies combine multiple channels. Below you’ll find the three main types of feedback, each with its own level of insight.
- Formal Feedback: Think structured tools such as patient surveys, post-visit questionnaires, and comment cards. Formal feedback is often used to help practices identify trends over time. If you’re seeking to measure satisfaction, wait times, communication clarity, and overall experience, start with formal feedback.
- Informal Feedback: However, don’t discount informal feedback. You can get some of the most valuable insights from casual conversations, online reviews, and unsolicited comments. A patient mentioning confusion about how to schedule an appointment online can highlight issues that formal surveys may miss. Ensure that staff can record these comments in a shared log, CRM, or EHR note field.
- Real-Time Feedback: Real-time feedback (e.g., appointment check-ins or post-visit prompts) allows practices to address issues proactively. Small frustrations caught early can prevent dissatisfaction from escalating. For example, a simple post-visit text asking, “Was anything unclear about today’s visit?” may reveal opportunities to improve follow-up instructions. Staff can reach out promptly with clarification as needed.
Capture Insights Across Ages, Backgrounds, and Care Needs
Patients all experience care in different ways. How a patient interacts with a practice can be influenced by their age, language, health literacy, comfort with technology, and cultural background.
To get a complete picture of how your practice is experienced by patients, you’ll need to gather feedback from diverse patient populations. This will ensure you’re identifying patterns and tailoring improvements to support all patients (not just the most vocal ones). For example, you may uncover:
- Working parents prioritize scheduling flexibility and convenience
- Patients with chronic conditions have different expectations around ongoing communication
- Older patients respond well to personal follow-ups
How Implementing Patient Feedback Improves Healthcare Practices
Listening to patients goes beyond the collection of feedback. To benefit from the feedback you’ve collected, you need a plan to turn insights into action. Patients will take note of what happens with their input, whether that’s disappearing into a system with no change or leading to noticeable improvements.
Consider incorporating feedback into regular team discussions. You can hold brief weekly staff meetings to review patient comments and feedback in a group setting with key stakeholders. Doing so will give your team a regular opportunity to identify patterns and determine improvements to make.
Patient feedback often leads to simple, actionable improvements. Even small changes like those listed below can truly improve how patients feel about their care:
- Clarifying visit instructions and after-visit summaries
- Adjusting appointment reminders or follow-up messaging to be more specific and timely
- Improving signage and check-in processes
- Providing clearer explanations of medications and treatment plans
After improvements have been identified, assign ownership. Having clear responsibility ensures feedback leads to improvement.
Finally, consider how you’ll close the loop. When possible, let patients know their feedback led to a change. Doing so reinforces trust and encourages continued engagement.
Listening as the Foundation of Better Care
Patient feedback doesn’t have to be seen as a criticism. Instead, view it as a collaboration. When practices actively listen and learn, they create an environment where patients feel respected and supported. Patients who feel heard are more likely to follow treatment plans and share openly and honestly.
My career has spanned both direct patient care and healthcare technology; that perspective has reinforced one truth: listening alone isn’t enough if insights can’t be captured, shared, and acted on. Practices need systems that support attentive listening, not ones that unintentionally silence it through fragmentation.
At RXNT, we help practices engage with patients and provide education through modern, easy-to-use technology that makes every interaction simple and straightforward. Schedule a demo today to discover how RXNT can empower your team to strengthen patient relationships through innovative healthcare technology.
