Eyeworld

EW REFRACTIVE 150 by Stefanie Petrou Binder, MD, EyeWorld Contributing Writer interpret survey questions, which are scored from 0–10, where detrac- tors score from 0–6, passives score from 7–8, and promoters score from 9–10. Very unsatisfied patients will have negative NPS scores. The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters in a given time period. She investigated the 12-month postoperative data of patients who underwent either femtosecond (FS) LASIK procedures or refractive lens exchange (RLE) using trifocal IOLs at her clinic, from February to June 2015. When asked, "How likely are you to recommend Memira to a friend or colleague?" the results in the 287 FS LASIK patient collective showed 5% detractors, 16% passives, and 79% promoters, giving an NPS of 75; and 11% detractors, 15% passives, and 74% promoters, in the 422 patients who had RLE trifocal surgery, giving an NPS of 63. "Seventy-five is considered a very high score, meaning that fa- vorable word of mouth is very likely months after surgery to gauge other aspects of patient satisfaction. Word of mouth Memira's patient survey runs a large spectrum of personal and sur- gery-oriented questions. A partic- ularly important survey question surrounds understanding which fac- tor was most influential in a patient deciding to have surgery at Memira. When asked, 42% of patients said it was based on a recommendation from a friend, 19% decided through contact with a representative from Memira, 15% became interested through an offer from their em- ployer, 14% were convinced by an online ad/offer, 12% from a promo- tional offer in TV/newspaper/radio, 5% from social media, 3% from a newspaper article, 3% followed their optometrist's recommendation, and 16% had "other" reasons. Clearly, based on the high percentage of friend recommendations, good word of mouth seems to go a long way. Ms. Göransson uses the net promoter score (NPS) to score and ever, there are usually so many years between the refractive and presby- opic surgeries that I would not call it a resell. It leaves us in a reality where we are dependent on recommenda- tions from formerly treated patients to recommend new patients. That is what is called word of mouth, and it is pivotal," said Frida Göransson, optometrist and quality director of Swedish laser surgery at provider Memira AB, Uppsala, Sweden. Ms. Göransson uses a web-based patient satisfaction survey that is automatically generated by email. She receives a 30% response rate, providing roughly 5,000 answers per year that evenly address the different services provided at the laser clinic. The surveys are sent out 1 month after a patient's pre-exam- ination if no reservation for surgery has been made, asking if the patient has decided against having eye sur- gery, whether a different clinic was chosen, and what the patient feels they might have done differently to improve their service. Automatic emails are also sent out at 3 and 12 How patient feedback can improve your refractive practice G auging patient satisfaction is a key factor for quality assurance in refractive surgery. Surgical centers that achieve high-quality standards for visual outcomes, strive for professional treatment while a patient is in their care, and meet patient expectations create the right buzz, bolster patient confidence, and ultimately attract more patients. A Swedish investigation revealed what researchers learned from question- naires about patient satisfaction and word of mouth and how it affects their practice, at the XXXIV Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in September 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark. "To be able to work with con- tinuous improvement, you need to know the patient experience during the whole time. We use a patient satisfaction survey with detailed questions about patients' experi- ence of the clinic, staff, the pre-ex- amination, the surgery, the day of surgery, and of course, the results. Our survey has up to 40 questions, including the patient profile, why they chose our clinic, why they chose to have refractive surgery, for how long have they been consider- ing a refractive procedure, and many more detailed questions. All of this information is important for a good analysis and to understand the cor- relations between results and differ- ent procedures. I would say that in refractive surgery, high patient satis- faction is even more important than in many other businesses, since we have a one-time sell. The patient has the surgery and is treated for life. You will see him again soonest for presbyopic surgery, hopefully. How- April 2017 Refractive satisfaction: Listen to your patients Refractive satisfaction survey outcomes Source: Frida Göransson Frida Göransson, Quality Director, Memira AB Presentation spotlight

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