How your EHR's patient feedback module can encourage best practice

Today, most EHR platforms include a patient portal with built-in patient experience feedback and patient experience management capabilities. This can be an invaluable module in your EHR system, making a great difference in the operations and outcomes of your practice.

As well as those portals, patient feedback can be obtained through automated surveys and outcome-tracking tools. In addition to portal questionnaires, you can collect patient feedback via SMS, mobile apps, and in-clinic kiosks to meet patients where they are. The most direct feedback is from patient portals, which allow them to either provide direct written input on their experiences or answer pre-established questionnaires.

What your patient feedback can tell you

Patient feedback can give greater insight into the experiences that your patients are having. You’ll see real-time sentiment trends and spot issues before they escalate.

It is important to note, however, that people who leave feedback may be on the ends of the spectrum, feeling motivated to leave very positive or very negative feedback. Individuals with average experiences may not find the motivation or need to leave feedback, as they may feel it is not noteworthy.

Recommended reading: Find an EHR with strong patient feedback capabilities with our free comparison guide.

The value of patient feedback in an EHR system is significant. Instead of using a research committee, marketing team, or spending money mailing surveys to patients, the EHR system can gather patient feedback without needing to hire more employees or pay for additional services. By integrating patient feedback directly into your quality improvement workflows, you drive faster, evidence-based changes.

Use the data to identify both improvement areas and practice strengths. Examining feedback will show where your practice delivers on patient-centered care and where it falls short. You will discover examples of best practice, areas where lessons can be learned, as well as areas of concern.

Processing feedback: best practices

In order to use the feedback, it is important to first categorize the information. Feedback can be categorized into topics such as customer service, practice operations, bedside manner, clinical outcomes, and overall patient satisfaction.

Text analytics or sentiment-analysis tools may already be built into your EHR; use these to automate categorization and uncover themes in patient experience feedback. By categorizing the patient feedback, the practice will be able to identify areas that need improvement and areas that are performing well. Once the practice identifies the areas that need improvement, it is essential to dig further to identify who is involved and where there is a breakdown. This information should be categorized, saved, and tracked.

By categorizing and tracking both positive and negative reviews, the practice will be able to monitor for trends and common themes. For example, the practice may find that there are consistently negative reviews regarding practice operations, in the form of long waiting times. By tracking this feedback, the practice may be able to address patient intake processes, scheduling, or staffing issues.

Addressing common themes

Additionally, the practice may find a common theme of positive feedback for patients with diabetes, but poor feedback for those with cardiovascular disease. Dig into clinical outcomes alongside feedback: if you see lower patient satisfaction matched by suboptimal outcomes in cardiovascular care, target that service line with training, protocol review, or new patient-education materials. This will help refine best practices across a number of areas and optimize patient experience.

Closing the loop with opportunities for continuous improvement

Gather patient feedback at multiple touchpoints: pre-visit, during care, and post-visit, to ensure a full picture of the patient journey. Most importantly, share results with your care team and establish a regular feedback review process. Assign responsibility for each improvement initiative, set measurable goals (e.g., reduce wait times by 15% in three months), and communicate both changes and outcomes back to patients.

Continually measuring and responding to patient experience feedback builds trust, deepens engagement, and elevates your practice’s reputation.

The simple, overlooked method of embedding patient feedback into your quality improvement cycle will turn insights into action and genuine, lasting improvements in patient care.