The Dental Practice Questionnaire: a patient feedback tool for improving the quality of dental practices

Patient Satisfaction with the Quality of Oral Rehabilitation Dental Services: A Comparison between the Public and Private Health System

Measuring satisfaction can help us understand patients' expectations and adopt individualized treatment according to their expectations. In the current study, we applied the DPQ (Dental Practice Questionnaire) to analyze the degree of patient satisfaction regarding medical services in the public and private sector in a Romanian city from the central region. A group of 200 patients, 100 patients from the public sector and 100 patients from the private sector, participated in the survey. The results showed significant differences in response when patients were stratified by age, gender, visit frequency and length of time attending the same practice. Significant differences between public and private practices were encountered. Moreover, the degree of patient satisfaction was found to be related to appointment promptness/length of time and the confidentiality/ability to listen/knowledge/respect shown by the dentist, while patients' recommendations to others were influenced by dentists' explanations and warmth, followed by the appointment system and confidentiality. Patient satisfaction with oral rehabilitation dental services plays an essential role in maintaining patients' addressability, but there is a multitude of factors that can influence patients' opinions. Further analysis of the evolution of the influencing factors (causing satisfaction or dissatisfaction), in time, could provide deeper insights into the links between patient satisfaction and these factors.

Dental service voucher for adults: patient experiences in Finland

OBJECTIVE

To investigate how patients experienced a new dental service voucher, what influenced the patient experience, and the use of such vouchers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An SMS-linked patient survey was sent to all patients (n = 1,000) that had received the voucher. The survey consisted of 23 questions (20 multiple choice, 3 open-ended), included themes like access to treatment, use of the voucher, and patient experience. Statistical analyses included Chi-square, Fisher's exact, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Spearman's rank correlation.

RESULTS

The response rate was 25.7%. Patient experience was on average very good. Of the respondents, 148 (57.6%) reported that the voucher was very simple to use, 160 (62.3%) considered that they were helped very well, and 149 (58%) would have very willingly used a voucher again. Those who used the voucher reported an overall better patient experience, as did those with good oral health. Of those reporting unused service vouchers, 14 (67%) preferred to use the public oral health care services instead.

CONCLUSIONS

Notwithstanding a relatively low response rate, the results can be utilized to identify patients who need more support in using the voucher, and therefore to target information and guidance more effectively.

MEASURING PATIENT EXPERIENCE OF ORAL HEALTH CARE: A CALL TO ACTION

BACKGROUND

Surveys to measure patients' experiences of health care are common practice in general medical care to improve patient centered care. However, such questionnaires are not consistently used to capture the patient's experience of oral health care. Because patient experience is an important component of oral health care, there is an urgent need to measure it in the oral health care setting.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the need for patient experience measurement in oral health care, highlight the challenges such measurement in this setting faces, and provide a set of next steps to advance care experience measurement for dental patients.

BASIC PROCEDURES

We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature examining patient experience measurement in medical and oral health care. This focused on studies aimed at understanding the current measurement landscape and existing measurement tools. We also gathered additional information and perspectives through discussions with key informants and stakeholders.

MAIN FINDINGS

There is a critical need for patient experience measurement in oral health care. To develop a program to measure patient experiences of oral care, the following should be done: (1) convene stakeholders and get their buy-in; (2) develop a patient experiences of oral health conceptual framework; (3) develop a survey tool that captures key aspects of patient experiences of oral health; (4) pilot the survey tool; (5) assess the survey tool...s psychometric properties; and (6) refine and finalize the survey tool.

PRINCIPLE CONCLUSIONS

To advance the measurement of the quality of oral health care, we outline a stepwise methodology that captures dental patient experiences of oral health care.

A systematic review of the validity and reliability of patient-reported experience measures

OBJECTIVES

To identify patient-reported experience measures (PREMs), assess their validity and reliability, and assess any bias in the study design of PREM validity and reliability testing.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING

Articles reporting on PREM development and testing sourced from MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus databases up to March 13, 2018.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS

Critical appraisal of PREM study design was undertaken using the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS). Critical appraisal of PREM validity and reliability was undertaken using a revised version of the COSMIN checklist.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Eighty-eight PREMs were identified, spanning across four main health care contexts. PREM validity and reliability was supported by appropriate study designs. Internal consistency (n = 58, 65.2 percent), structural validity (n = 49, 55.1 percent), and content validity (n = 34, 38.2 percent) were the most frequently reported validity and reliability tests.

CONCLUSIONS

Careful consideration should be given when selecting PREMs, particularly as seven of the 10 validity and reliability criteria were not undertaken in ≥50 percent of the PREMs. Testing PREM responsiveness should be prioritized for the application of PREMs where the end user is measuring change over time. Assessing measurement error/agreement of PREMs is important to understand the clinical relevancy of PREM scores used in a health care evaluation capacity.

Just One Thing: a novel patient feedback model

In response to the Educational Standards of the UK's General Dental Council, Newcastle University, School of Dental Sciences introduced a patient feedback card to gather and incorporate patient feedback into their undergraduate assessment framework. The cards ask for patient response to two questions about their experience, and also ask patients to identify 'Just One Thing' (JOT) the student could do to improve this. JOT cards completed during a two week period were collected to evaluate and analyse the nature of patient responses within this model. Over 90% of JOT cards scored the students as 'Excellent' with the remainder scoring the student as 'Good' or giving no response. Many of the free text comments complimented the students and also provided focused suggestions for improvement. While the overwhelming positive responses may suggest that this model for collecting feedback may not be effective at discriminating between students with varying levels of interpersonal/communication skills, the free text comments were seen to be of value in building confidence or identifying areas for improvement.