AMA Teams With Press Ganey to Help Physicians Get Valid Feedback From Patients

CHICAGO, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Medical Association (AMA) and Press Ganey Associates, Inc. announced today a collaborative effort to provide physicians with a new Web-based tool for measuring the satisfaction of their patients. RealTime collects and evaluates patient feedback and provides information to help physicians improve their practices and better meet the needs of their patients.

By providing patients with a proactive outlet for feedback on their office experiences in an electronic survey format, RealTime delivers instant information that physicians can use to reduce wait times, improve patient communication, enhance the appearance of a practice and manage the courtesy and friendliness of staff.

"Supporting physicians with innovative tools that promote quality and efficiency is a priority for the AMA," said AMA Board Member Barbara L. McAneny, M.D. "Our collaboration with Press Ganey allows physicians to monitor the pulse of a busy practice with an easy means of capturing constructive patient feedback. This information is critical to understanding patients' needs, enhancing the quality of care and maximizing resources in a hectic medical practice."

The new application uses an electronic survey developed uniquely for this joint project and generates a series of reports including summaries, trends and comparisons of de-identified patient survey results. Participating physicians can identify drivers of satisfaction, analyze profiles of their most satisfied patients and create blinded comparisons to other physician practices. Physicians will also receive access to practice improvement webinars and materials from the AMA's Practice Management Center.

"We're excited to work with the AMA on this new initiative. Electronic surveys are proven to work, and the results are empowering," said Patricia Riskind, senior vice president of medical services at Press Ganey. "We help physician practices overcome one of the greatest obstacles to improving satisfaction and loyalty – the lack of actionable results. Our web-based application will provide real-time feedback that helps our physician clients improve patient satisfaction today."

AMA members will be able to purchase the patient satisfaction tool at special introductory rate. More information is available at: http://medpractice.pressganey.com or www.ama-assn.org/go/patientexperience.  

American Medical Association

The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues. Working together, the AMA's quarter of a million physician and medical student members are playing an active role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org, or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AmerMedicalAssn

Press Ganey Associates, Inc.

Recognized as a leader in performance improvement for 25 years, Press Ganey partners with more than 10,000 health care organizations to create and sustain high performing organizations, and, ultimately, improve the overall health care experience. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to help clients operate efficiently, improve quality, increase market share and optimize reimbursement. Press Ganey works with clients from across the continuum of care – hospitals, medical practices, home health agencies and other providers – including 50% of all U.S. hospitals. For more information, visit www.pressganey.com.

SOURCE Press Ganey Associates, Inc.; American Medical Association