Otolaryngology Doctor–Patient Interactions Are Increasingly Under the Microscope

by Jennifer Fink •

How Useful Are Patient Satisfaction Scores?

Hospitals and other healthcare institutions are publishing patient satisfaction scores to help patients make informed healthcare decisions.

But data from a 2021 review of academic otolaryngology practices “suggest that patient satisfaction scores may not be a sufficient metric by which to detect variation in patient satisfaction” and therefore “may limit the meaningful utility of patient satisfaction scores to help patients distinguish between providers” (Laryngoscope. 2021;131:2204–2210).

Additional reading

If you’re looking for more information on patient satisfaction surveys and their impact on otolaryngology practices, try these studies from The Laryngoscope.

• Trainees associated with improved wait times and patient satisfaction in a multidisciplinary clinic (2023) doi:10.1002/lary.30821

• Publicly reported patient satisfaction scores in academic otolaryngology departments (2021)  doi:10.1002/lary.29557

• Clinical scribes and their association with patient experience in the otolaryngology clinic (2019) doi:10.1002/lary.28075

• Satisfaction in academic otolaryngology: do physician demographics impact Press Ganey survey scores? (2019) doi: 10.1002/lary.28335

• Physician impact on the patient and family experience in a pediatric otolaryngology practice (2018)  doi:10.1002/lary.27596

• Whose experience is measured?: A pilot study of patient satisfaction demographics in pediatric otolaryngology (2013)  doi:10.1002/lary.24307

• Patient experience in outpatient pediatric otolaryngology (2012) doi:10.1002/lary.23364

• Patient satisfaction in otolaryngology: can academic institutions compete? (2012)  doi:10.1002/lary.23255