Enhancing health care through patient feedback
SPMC J Health Care Serv. 2024;10(1):4 ARK: https://n2t.net/ark:/76951/jhcs5u8su9
1Research Utilization and Publication Unit, Southern Philippines Medical Center, JP Laurel Ave, Davao City, Philippines
Correspondence Alvin S Concha, alvinconcha@gmail.com
Received 1 April 2024
Accepted 13 June 2024
Cite as Concha AS. Enhancing health care through patient feedback. SPMC J Health Care Serv. 2024;10(1):4. https://n2t.net/ark:/76951/jhcs5u8su9
Patient feedback is a crucial component of health care improvement. It is recognized globally, with client satisfaction rate being one of the impact indicators of the 8-point agenda of the Philippine Department of Health (DOH).1
At the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), we value patient feedback. We conduct regular surveys to gather feedback on our various services. Our Public Assistance and Complaints Desk not only handles patient complaints about facilities and services but also facilitates actions based on this feedback. SPMC hosts patient groups, typically composed of individuals battling chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, and hypertension. These groups meet regularly, providing invaluable suggestions on how we can enhance the services they receive.
Today’s patients are more conscious than ever about the quality of public services and their right to access them. They seek not just medical outcomes, but a satisfying experience that includes safe and comfortable facilities, efficient services, and pleasant interactions with health care personnel. Patients today are quick to voice their complaints about services, facilities, and health care personnel, often turning to social media. While this platform offers little chance for health care institutions to defend themselves, it provides an opportunity to listen, learn, and improve.
Health care institutions should engage patients in advisory boards or patient panels to translate feedback into service improvements. We must use feedback channels, including social media and apps, to refine our services.
While patient satisfaction is important, our goal is to improve patient outcomes. Patients should be informed about these efforts to reinforce the patient-centric nature of our services.
Patient feedback ensures our health care system meets patients’ needs. It is the most valuable measure of our success. It is essential in the health care industry as it helps us shape a better health care system. It drives us to improve for the sake of every patient who walks through our doors.
Article source
Submitted
Peer review
Internal
Competing interests
None declared
Access and license
This is an Open Access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which allows others to share and adapt the work, provided that derivative works bear appropriate citation to this original work and are not used for commercial purposes. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
References
1 Department of Health. Adoption of the 8-Point Action Agenda as the Medium-Term Strategy of the Health Sector for 2023-2028, Administrative Order No. 2023-0015 (2023 Sep 13).
Copyright © 2024 AS Concha.
Published
June 13, 2024
Issue
Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024)
Section
Editorial
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