Patient satisfaction survey questions

Satisfaction or experience?

Satisfaction questions ask how people felt (“How satisfied were you with your visit?”). Experience questions ask what happened (“Did the clinician explain your treatment in a way you could understand?”). Use both: a few ratings to track over time, and specific experience questions to find what to fix.

If you run a hospital or day procedure service in Australia, look at the Australian Hospital Patient Experience Question Set (AHPEQS), published by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, before you write your own.

Booking and access

• How easy was it to get an appointment at a time that suited you?
• How long after your booked time were you seen? (Less than 15 minutes, 15 to 30 minutes, more than 30 minutes)
• If you were kept waiting, did anyone tell you why?

Reception and the waiting area

• Were you treated with courtesy and respect at reception?
• Could your conversation at the reception desk be overheard from the waiting area?
• How clean and comfortable was the waiting area?

The consultation

• Did the doctor, nurse or other clinician listen carefully to you?
• Did they explain things in a way you could understand?
• Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in decisions about your care?
• Did you have enough time to ask questions?

Leaving and next steps

• Did you leave knowing what happens next?
• Was your next appointment, test or referral arranged before you left?
• Overall, how would you rate your visit? (Very poor to Very good)
• How likely are you to recommend this practice to friends or family? (0 to 10), followed by “What is the main reason for your score?”

Asking well

• Keep it under five minutes, and ask within a few days of the visit.
• Offer more than one way to answer: a link by text message or email, a QR code in the waiting room, or a tablet at reception.
• Use plain language, and offer other languages if your patients need them.
• Make it anonymous where you can, and say so.
• Never ask for clinical details. A feedback survey is not a clinical record.
• Health information is sensitive information under the Australian Privacy Principles, so collect only what you need and tell patients how their answers will be used.