Some physicians take issue with patient surveys because they're often outdated and may not always be a true representation of physicians' practice behavior, Medscape reported Jan. 19.
"The surveys may be equally applied as attempts to praise a worthy or popular provider as they may be an angry attempt at revenge or spite as to represent a true alert to a concerning practice of behavior," Greg Hood, MD, an internist in Lexington, Ky., told the news outlet.
Oftentimes, patients can't remember all the details from their visit by the time they're asked to fill out a survey, Jeffrey Segal, MD, CEO and founder of Medical Justice, an organization focused on lawsuit protection and online reputation management.
"The questions are sometimes dated, and the multiple-choice format isn't as useful as free commentary," Dr. Segal told Medscape, adding that surveys at the point of service could be more representative of the patient experience.
"That would make the information more digestible and easier to act on," he said. "For these reasons, the likelihood of finding a doctor who truly likes patient surveys is very low."
Another physician, who asked to remain anonymous, described a situation in which survey feedback could be misused. For example, offering a patient information about the COVID-19 vaccine to combat vaccine hesitancy could translate to a bad review. The patient could then "give it to your customer satisfaction department, and it adversely affects your quality bonus," the physician said.
Still, there are patient survey advocates, Medscape reports. In some cases, the surveys can reflect how physicians are holding up personally, which has been especially useful amid the pandemic, according to Bill Wuff, MD, CEO of Central Ohio Primary Care.
"When some of our … scores went down, it spoke to the decline in the doctor's overall well-being," Dr. Wuff told the news outlet, adding that it sparked the development of a well-being program for their physicians.
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