April 17, 2025

Volume 4 | Issue 4 | April 2025

Happy female doctor and senior patient look at tablet screen discuss treatment or therapy on gadget. Smiling woman nurse and mature client use pad device discussing results in modern hospital.

Leveraging Patient Satisfaction Surveys to Enhance Health Care Experience

Patient satisfaction surveys have become an integral tool for health care organizations, serving as a critical feedback mechanism to improve patient
outcomes and service delivery. Organizations can effectively utilize patient satisfaction surveys to create meaningful improvements.

Patient satisfaction surveys offer direct insight into the patient’s experience by measuring the quality of care. Patient feedback provides valuable information that can support peer review, inspire benchmarking and quality improvement studies, and inform strategic decisions, such as service development and resource allocation.

The success of a patient satisfaction program depends largely on the quality of the survey tool. When developing survey questions, focus on specific, actionable aspects of the care journey, from appointment scheduling to follow-up, enlisting qualitative and quantitative data. Start by deciding a goal for each question. If the goal is to get information relevant to peer review, then the questions should be centered around the care provided specifically by a health care provider. Were you seen on time? Did your provider spend enough time with you? Were all your questions answered?

Patient dissatisfaction is just as important to know as patient satisfaction. Are appointments too close together, and are patients waiting too long? Is the receptionist or clinical staff rude to patients or their families? Do patients get their questions answered about their medications and how to take them? All these topics relate to a satisfactory visit to a facility. If any of these topics consistently measure poorly, it is an opportunity to study these issues and improve the care provided to patients.

Once the survey is developed, AAAHC Standards require that there be a robust process for data collection, analysis, and action planning that is integrated into the quality improvement plan (QUA.180). Creating a feedback loop by sharing survey results and improvements with respondents and staff can strengthen the program, encourage participation, and motivate staff. Remember to ensure that the governing body also reviews the patient satisfaction assessment results (QUA.180.30).

Patient satisfaction surveys are powerful tools for improving health care delivery, but their effectiveness depends on proper design, implementation, and follow-through.

The success of patient satisfaction initiatives ultimately relies on organizational culture and leadership’s commitment to patient-centered care. When properly executed, these programs can drive significant improvements in health care quality, patient loyalty, and organizational performance.

The Importance of Optimizing an Organization Name on the AAAHC Certificate

When an organization is awarded accreditation or certification, the next step is announcing that accomplishment.

Along with the organization’s decision letter and survey report, AAAHC’s 1095 Engage system populates a PDF version of the award certificate within the 1095 Cycle (decision tab and profile history). This certificate contains the accreditation or certification program, client legal name (as officially registered with the government, appearing on legal documents), client Doing Business As (DBA) name, and the awarded term of AAAHC Accreditation or Certification.

While organizations have access to the PDF version of their certificate following the release of the decision letter, AAAHC also mails a 12”x16” quality stock printed certificate containing the same information.

The AAAHC Certificate is recognized as a symbol of quality by third-party payors, medical organizations, insurance companies, state and federal agencies, and the public. AAAHC encourages organizations to publicly display their AAAHC Accreditation/Certification Certificate. For this reason, AAAHC wants to ensure that legal and DBA names are accurately reflected in the 1095 Engage Profile.

The 1095 Engage Profile supports a maximum of 130 characters for the organization’s legal name and DBA, combined. While the legal name must match the state-registered name, optimizing the DBA within this limit ensures proper display/readability in the Profile and on the certificate. The organization’s Primary Contact can update the Profile using the online Change Notification process at any time throughout the accreditation/certification term to ensure accuracy.

Why optimize the legal name?

Compliance: Adhering to character limits avoids processing issues and ensures compliance with AAAHC policies.
Recognition: Accurate representation aids in consistent branding for the organization.
Efficiency: Timely completion prevents delays in issuing certificates and other documents.

NOTE: Prioritizing key terms ensures the legal name matches the state/government agency filing.

Steps to optimize the Business Unit (BU), DBA, or Child Business Unit (CBU) name:

Review abbreviations: Use standard abbreviations for common terms and exclude periods (e.g., Ctr = Center).
Eliminate redundant words: Remove words that do not alter the legal identity (e.g., “the,” “and,” “of”).

Displaying the AAAHC Certificate of Accreditation or Certification is a great way to proudly demonstrate to the community an organization’s excellence and commitment to providing quality health care.

Participate in Voice of Customer Survey and Shape AAAHC Services

AAAHC truly values feedback and is excited to announce the upcoming launch of the Voice of Customer (VOC) survey. Participants can contribute to the value AAAHC delivers to its organizations and help drive improvements in services and processes that better meet their needs.

Why organization feedback matters
Organization feedback is crucial in guiding our actions.

Enhance the accreditation/certification experience: Identify opportunities for improvement and innovation of AAAHC systems and survey process.
Address current and future needs: Ensure AAAHC services align with expectations and needs so that accreditation/certification can seamlessly integrate into an organization’s quality improvement journey.
Strengthen the partnership: Provide guidance in delivering solutions and resources that bring real value to organizations.

AAAHC takes feedback seriously. Past client VOC feedback contributed to significant improvements, including:

Improved communication: AAAHC launched the monthly electronic client newsletter, Triangle Times Today, to keep organizations informed about updates and best practices.
New program features: AAAHC launched a new Standards architecture to facilitate Standards curation by program/facility type and specialty, eliminating redundancy, easing interpretation, and focusing on quality improvement compliance efforts in areas most relevant to organizations.
Enhanced processes: AAAHC introduced 1095 Engage to reduce time spent on completing renewal Applications. 1095 Engage pre-populates the Profile and stores supporting documentation for easy renewal.

How to participate
The VOC survey targets feedback from organizations that have experienced a survey conducted through 1095 Engage or have updated their system Profile to access curated Standards. For this group, the 1095 Engage system designated Primary Contact(s) will receive an email invitation with a link to the survey. Each organization’s unique perspective will provide crucial insights into enhancing AAAHC service offerings. The survey is detailed yet easy to complete and will directly influence future initiatives and improvements.

Participants who complete the survey will receive a $25 electronic gift card and be entered into a drawing for a chance to attend the AAAHC September 2025 Virtual Achieving Accreditation program at no charge. Stay tuned for further details on survey launch anticipated in late April/early May. In the meantime, please reach out to info@aaahc.org with questions.

Allergy Documentation:" A Frequently Deficiency artilce

Conferences & Exhibits

ASCA Affiliate Pre-Meeting Session
Enhancing Quality: A Practical Workshop on Quality Improvement Methodologies
April 30, Denver, CO
ASCA 2025 Conference & Expo
May 1–2, Denver, CO

Learn more about the ASCA Affiliate Pre-Meeting Session