1. Define Your Objective
Identify one or two service issues you would like to learn more about. Priority areas can be related to feedback you received from surveys as well as complaints or comments that you received personally.
Survey data or comments illustrate that there is an issue, but they don’t give you specifics about why. Interviews will help to understand more about the situation and can give some suggestions about what to change.
Some Issues Explored through Intercept Interviews
- Signage and way finding
- Parking
- Clarity about follow up and next steps
- Discharge instructions
2. Create Questions
Once you have outlined areas you want to understand more about, create questions that help uncover more information about your patients’ thoughts and feelings in a combination of open- and closed-ended questions.
3. Determine Actions
Determine ahead of time how data will be reviewed, summarized, and interpreted in order to set priorities or action.
Advantages of Intercept Interviews
- Can be conducted in small teams of two or three people who can each collect their own observations when speaking with patients
- Rather than waiting a week after an appointment to collect information about a visit (as is sometimes the case with surveys), even a small sample of patients asked on the day of their on-site visit is invaluable to learning what can be done
- Qualitative perspective of “today’s” experience
Implementing intercept interviews is one effective method you can do to get to know your patients and how they are currently feeling about your service. By developing just a couple of quick questions, the answers to your puzzling service weaknesses are only a couple feet and minutes away.
And as always, feel free to contact us with any questions about evaluating your patient experience with intercept interviews, medical mystery shopping, or a culture assessment.
