Abstract
BackgroundThe gathering of feedback on doctors from patients after consultations is an important part of patient involvement and participation. This study first assesses the 23-item Patient Feedback Questionnaire (PFQ) designed by the Picker Institute, Europe, to determine whether these items form a single latent trait. Then, an Internet module with visual representation is developed to gather patient views about their doctors; this program then distributes the individualized results by email.MethodsA total of 450 patients were randomly recruited from a 1300-bed-size medical center in Taiwan. The Rasch rating scale model was used to examine the data-fit. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis was conducted to verify construct equivalence across the groups. An Internet module with visual representation was developed to provide doctors with the patient's online feedback.ResultsTwenty-one of the 23 items met the model's expectation, namely that they constitute a single construct. The test reliability was 0.94. DIF was found between ages and different kinds of disease, but not between genders and education levels. The visual approach of the KIDMAP module on the WWW seemed to be an effective approach to the assessment of patient feedback in a clinical setting.ConclusionThe revised 21-item PFQ measures a single construct. Our work supports the hypothesis that the revised PFQ online version is both valid and reliable, and that the KIDMAP module is good at its designated task. Further research is needed to confirm data congruence for patients with chronic diseases.
Highlights
The gathering of feedback on doctors from patients after consultations is an important part of patient involvement and participation
The ordered natures of the category boundary threshold parameters were estimated as -3.06, -2.36, 0.44, and 4.97 under the rating scale model, indicating that no item exhibited disordering of the step difficulty and the 5point rating scale was appropriate [36,37]
Our work supports the hypotheses that the psychometric properties of the revised Patient Feedback Questionnaire (PFQ) online version are valid and reliable, and that the KIDMAP module is worthy of its task
Summary
The gathering of feedback on doctors from patients after consultations is an important part of patient involvement and participation. Mechanisms for assessing patient views on performance and practice at the physician level are not as widely established as the systems for gathering feedback from patients at the organization level [6]. The purpose of this study was (a) to establish a valid and reliable instrument for the measurement of physicians' performance, and (2) to develop an effective way to quickly gather feedback on doctors from patients after a consultation. Many hospital initiatives use questionnaires to assess satisfaction with doctors' performance as part of routine management [8]. These questionnaires draw attention to issues such as the doctor's communication skills in order to improve the quality of medical practice effectively [9,10]. The assessment of individual doctor performance has gained increasing prominence worldwide [11]
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