Nine benefits we see with sustained use of Patient Opinion

At Patient Opinion, we're focused on how online feedback can lead to real changes in services, relationships and culture. And across the UK, we've seen how using Patient Opinion effectively, over a sustained period, does create important impacts for patients and staff alike.

Here's a quick checklist of the changes we see - feel free to add your own thoughts in a response to this post.

For patients

1: Seeing what others are saying about the services they use

It helps people to read the experience of others, especially about procedures. Often previous stories are helpful and reassuring, and because they are written by other patients they address the things a patient would want to know, often in a very direct and compelling way.

2: Seeing the information provided in responses

Responses offer an opportunity for staff to communicate important information about how services are organised, accessed, or changing. Because they are public, responses are read by hundreds of people – not just the story author. So information in a single response can help many people.

3: Seeing the organisation takes patient concerns seriously

Responding in public is also an opportunity to show that an organisation cares about patient experiences and is willing to act on feedback. Again, this can help restore relationships for the author, and helps to builds the trust of the local community in the service.

For staff

4: Positive feedback boosts morale

People post a lot of positive feedback on Patient Opinion, and as a service encourages more use of Patient Opinion, the feedback tends to become more positive. The raw, authentic and often moving stories patients tell are powerful for staff and can be a tremendous morale boost.

5: Feedback leads to learning and pride

Seeing their service through the eyes of patients and families can genuinely change the way staff understand their work and their own impact on people. Being empowered to respond directly to feedback online gives staff a strong sense of ownership of their feedback, and builds pride in the service.

6: Demonstrating service improvement

Responses on Patient Opinion can highlight changes made in response to feedback. Whether changes are large or small, they make things better for future patients and sometimes they save money too. They show everyone – staff, patients, commissioners, regulators, patient organisations – that feedback to this organisation really does make a difference.

For the organisation

7: Building reputation

Organisations which have used Patient Opinion proactively and set out to be open and transparent tell us that public online feedback has improved, rather than harmed, their reputation in their community. Being seen to openly respond to and act on feedback helps builds trust and collaborative relationships.

8: Avoiding formal complaints

We don’t have research data on this, but a number of organisations using Patient Opinion tell us that they believe they have avoided formal complaints by being able to deal with many issues both more quickly and more effectively than before.

9: Developing a culture of learning and improvement

Sustained use of Patient Opinion over a period of time (typically around 1-2 years) seems to lead to a gradual change in the culture of the team or department. The changes we see include: less defensiveness, a greater willingness to hear and act on feedback, a greater willingness to give feedback to colleagues (especially positive feedback), and a greater sense of confidence in the service being provided.

So there you go: nine significant impacts from Patient Opinion. Have you experienced these, or others? Post a response and let us know.