Patient Opinion: a new approach to public involvement
James Munro 2006 contribtion to conference Involving Patients in Commissioning
Who is Patient Opinion for?
- For patients
- to give feedback on their health services
- to easily see what others are saying
- For health care providers
- to hear – and respond to – patient concerns and thank-yous
- to compare their ratings with others
What is available now?
Patient Opinion is available across England but not (yet) the rest of the UK. It covers all acute trusts. Coming soon:
- Mental health and care trusts
- ISTCs
- Private sector hospitals
Feedback experience so far
- Around 50% of patient feedback positive
- Around 30% mixed
- Around 20% critical
- Usually in a thoughtful way
Feedback management
All opinions are reviewed before publication
- Editorial policy is public and evolving
- Critical opinions are flagged to subscribers
- Patient identity is confidential
- Anti-gaming safeguards are built in
How is Patient Opinion set up?
- A social enterprise
- A not-for-profit business
- Not a charity or a project
- Independent of the NHS
- But sharing NHS values
How is this funded?
- Through subscriptions to the service
- From providers, commissioners and the Healthcare Commission
Subscribers receive
- Access to all Patient Opinion data through custom feeds and reports
- Ability to respond to patient feedback
Public use of Patient Opinion is free
How this fits with policy
- Patient Choice
- Patient-led NHS
- Complements PPI and PALS
- Healthcare Commission standards
- e-government
- Everyday democracy