4 Reasons Why Patient Satisfaction Surveys Are Important

You take pride in the high quality of dental health care you provide, but what do your patients think about you, your staff, and your products and services? Consistently measuring patient satisfaction with the dental care and improving the patient experience you and your team deliver can only be achieved through the use of patient satisfaction surveys.

Offering patient satisfaction surveys, and making it easy for them to participate by mailing them directly to patient households, and even following up with brief questionnaires while in your waiting room, will help you get answers to questions you need to know.

Find Out What Your Patients Think about Your Practice

There are many reasons why you should conduct patient satisfaction surveys. The four most important business and public relations reasons are:

• It shows you are concerned with providing top-tier oral health care. Everyone wants to be heard, and everyone appreciates it when their opinions are solicited and considered. It demonstrates to your patients that you and your staff are committed to ensuring they always get the best dental health care available and that you are continually seeking ways to improve or complement your services.
• It can help you and your team improve your services. Surveys are a great way to find out if your patients are seeking products or services you don’t currently provide, and to enhance their happiness when visiting your office. Are they pleased with the level of dentist-patient interaction? Does the technical competency of you and your dental team impress them or fall short? Are they receiving great customer service and administrative efficiency when they call or visit?
• It will increase your practice’s revenue. Getting the lowdown on what your patients think can often lead to helping you identify personal training needs or if members of your staff require training to improve their performance.
• Your patients will be pleased. Asking your patients to participate in a satisfaction survey tells them you value and respect their opinions. It signifies you care what they think, and that alone will help you reduce attrition and retain your current patient roster.

The Value of Reliable Market Research

It’s invaluable knowing what your patients of record think about you, your team, and the dental health services they receive at your office. It’s a cost-effective way to keep your existing patients happy and engaged, and by letting them know you care about their opinions, it will encourage them to spread the word about your practice to their friends, colleagues, and families. You could even tie in a new patient referral reward plan into your satisfaction surveys to help increase participation.

Moreover, conducting patient satisfaction surveys produces additional benefits including boosting staff morale. How? For instance, knowing who on your team deserves a pat on the back for a job well done, and letting them know they are valued and that you appreciate their good work, goes a long way to helping you retain great employees. Additionally, it’s worthwhile to ask your employees to participate in an anonymous survey to gauge their level of satisfaction with their jobs. Could a minor change to an internal process in your office remove a source of irritation for your staff? An anonymous and confidential satisfaction survey is the best way to find out.

Need professional and experienced assistance marketing your dental practice? We can help. For over 24+ years, Patient NEWS has worked exclusively with more than 7,000 dentists across the U.S. and Canada. Call us now at 1-888-377-2404 or request a callback.