Which patient experiences are you capturing? Investigating differences in patient experience drivers by race/ethnicity and survey mode

Meike Eilert, MedalliaFollow
Toni Land, MedalliaFollow
Jonathan Shafer, Independent ResearcherFollow

Abstract

To address existing disparities in healthcare for underserved populations, healthcare providers and policymakers need to understand how the experiences of these patients differ to take meaningful action. In this study, we examine whether drivers of patient experiences (PX) for underserved populations vary. Using data from the 2018 and 2019 CAHPS Adult PCMH/Adult Primary Care 6 Month (n = 166,349), we examine differences in the importance of PX drivers - effective communication, helpful and courteous staff, timely appointments, and providers’ use of information - across underserved patients. We further examine whether different survey modes compound the observed differences. The findings show that there is significant variation in PX drivers across underserved patients, such that Asian American patients place less importance on effective communication and timely appointments but more emphasis on helpful and courteous staff than the average patient. In contrast, Black or African American patients place a higher importance on timely appointments. We observe additional differences when survey modes are taken into consideration, implying that for underserved populations the way in which patient feedback is collected matters. Taken together, the results from this study highlight the need to not only examine the overall PX for patients of underserved populations but understand which drivers matter. Moreover, our findings imply the need to make various survey modes available to capture patient feedback in a way that is responsive to the needs of each of these populations so that a representative sample is collected as survey mode significantly moderates the PX captured.

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Patient, Family & Community Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://www.theberylinstitute.org/ExperienceFramework).

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Recommended Citation

Eilert M, Land T, Shafer J. Which patient experiences are you capturing? Investigating differences in patient experience drivers by race/ethnicity and survey mode. Patient Experience Journal. 2022; 9(3):28-38. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1636.