Mind and Body June 2017 – Patient Opinion Matters

Pip Brennan, Executive Director of the Health Consumer’s Council, talked to Simon Lee and Cynthia Keith about the moderated platform, Patient Opinion, where you can provide your feedback, positive or negative. The patient is anonymous, the service is identified. It is a live, real-time feedback mechanism which builds a more positive relationship between healthcare service and patient. It is not about a “scores on the door” or “Trip Advisor” for health services. It is about building a dialogue between patient and health service which leads to quality improvement.

Interestingly, 50% of the stories are positive, 45% are a mix of positive and negative, while 5% are strongly critical. Everyone gets to see your story, and the hospital’s response. Sometimes there are a couple of responses back and forth as the topic is explored. People can vote on how helpful the responses from the health service are – how well they address the initial stories.  For those critical stories, the expectation is that a change will be made, and this is reflected on the website. The stories are read by hospital staff at all levels – even the Director General of WA Health is a watcher.

“We believe that patients’ feedback – good or bad – is essential to improving Australian health services. Tell us what was good and what could be improved, say thanks or call for change – we’ll pass your stories to the people in the health services who can make a difference.” Patient Opinion Australia