Neil H. Baum, MD, presented “Conducting Patient Surveys” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in February 2022.
How to cite: Baum, Neil H. “Conducting Patient Surveys.” February 2022. Accessed Dec 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/conducting-patient-surveys/
Conducting Patient Surveys – Summary
Grand Rounds in Urology Contributing Editor Neil H. Baum, MD, Professor of Urology at Tulane Medical School, gives recommendations on how urologists can improve their practices by conducting patient surveys. He notes that one of the key needs and wants of urologists is to monitor the urologist-patient encounter, and he highlights two pathways to success in this area: (1) find out what the patient wants and give him/her more of it; and (2) find out what the patient does not want and avoid it. Dr. Baum explains that the best way to identify what patients do and do not want is to conduct patient surveys. He recommends using a suggestion box and notes that in his own practice, he gives patients a card with six yes-or-no questions on the front and space on the reverse side for patients to write out the three questions they would like to have answered during their visit. Dr. Baum also suggests creating online surveys with questions such as “How likely are you to recommend this practice to others?” and “How responsive were the staff and the doctors to your questions?” He concludes that urologists need to listen to their patients and need to ask them how they can serve them better.
For more commentary on practice management from Dr. Baum, visit his Improving Your Urology Practice page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil H. Baum, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Urology at Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a retired urologic surgeon. Additionally, Dr. Baum serves as the Medical Advisor to Vanguard Communications Group. Dr. Baum is the author of Marketing Your Clinical Practice - Ethically, Effectively, and Economically, which is in its 4th edition, has sold over 175,000 copies, and has been translated into Spanish. He also wrote The Complete Business Guide to a Successful Medical Practice, which was published in 2015. Dr. Baum was the columnist for American Medical News for more than 25 years. Dr. Baum also wrote the popular column, “The Bottom Line,” for Urology Times for more than 20 years. He is a requested speaker each year to the Practice Management Seminar for the American Urological Association (AUA), where he discusses techniques for making urology practices more efficient and more productive. He has written more than 9 books on practice management and over 250 peer-reviewed articles on various urologic topics. Dr. Baum is also the medical advisor to Vanguard Communications Group.
