Ask a handful of patients to take it, then walk through the survey with them to see if they are misinterpreting any questions. That will help you revise your questions. Distribute for results. One important question is exactly how many surveys you'll need to distribute to get reliable results. Some consultants like Mr. Seibert say that you need about 400 responses to make sure that your survey is reliable for the practice as a whole.
Some practices hand surveys to every patient who comes in over the course of a few weeks.
The danger is that some patients will slip by without receiving a survey, or your receptionist might not give a form to patients who look particularly upset. One good way to get a random sample is to give a survey to every fourth patient who comes in during the week. Carolyn Albert, Practice Management Associate with the College's CCA, said that many physicians have found distributing patient surveys in the exam room to be highly effective. Instead of killing time reading magazines while they wait for the physician, patients can complete survey questions about access and staff. Once they have seen the physician, she said, patients have to complete only the remaining questions about the physician and overall satisfaction.