Research links online patient feedback and hospital performance
Independent research linking patient feedback left on the NHS Choices website and objective measures of hospital performance has been published…
Independent research linking patient feedback left on the NHS Choices website and objective measures of hospital performance has been published by Imperial College London. Better-rated hospitals tend to have lower death rates and lower readmission rates. Hospitals rated as cleaner by patients have also been found to have lower MRSA rates.
The research is significant because it’s the first to link unsolicited patient ratings and objective measures of quality, signalling that online patient feedback may be more insightful and valuable than previously thought.
The Government welcomes these findings, which highlight the importance of patients’ having a stronger voice in the NHS.
Record traffic to the NHS Choices website shows that online feedback offers an increasingly popular, convenient way for patients to make informed choices about their healthcare and for those treating them to respond to comments and improve services.