How does Patient Voice work?
Patient Voice requires three organisations to work together:
- AskYourTeam
- the PMS vendor (e.g. MedTech)
- the clinic/PHO.
This guide outlines how Patient Voice functions and how each organisation is involved.
Introduction to the Patient Voice process
Patient Voice is based on a 5-step process.
Step 1: Patient's appointment is entered into the PMS
The patient books an appointment or an appointment is booked on their behalf with the clinic/PHO. Their appointment details are entered into the PMS by the clinic/PHO or via their booking system.
Step 2: PMS provides appointment list to AskYourTeam
The PMS provides AskYourTeam a list of the clinic/PHO’s fulfilled appointments for the current day at 7pm NZST/8pm NZDT. This is done by using the PMS's API service.
The PMS provides AskYourTeam the following information about the patient:
- First and last name
- Contact details: email and mobile
- Basic demographics: ethnicity, gender, age
- PMS patient ID (e.g. MedTech ID)
- Location and postcode
- Appointment time
- Registration status
- Facility (the location the appointment will take place at)
- Provider (health professional providing the service)
This information is only used to send invitations.
Step 3: AskYourTeam sends an invite to the patient
The patient receives an invite to take a survey and provide feedback on their experience. They receive the invite the same day as their appointment by email (or mobile if there is no email address). This invite also includes a link to opt-out of future survey invites.
As soon as the invite is sent, all the patient’s PII (Personal Identifiable Information) is removed from the AskYourTeam system. The patient’s demographic information is still stored for reporting, but there is no PII associated with it. It is anonymised and given a unique ID that corresponds to the patient’s invite link.
⚠️ Invites are only sent to patients if the appointment is fulfilled AND they are 18 years old or over.
Step 4: Patient completes their survey
If the patient completes the survey, their responses are sent to the clinic/PHO’s AskYourTeam account and added to their reporting suite. As soon as a clinic/PHO’s survey reaches the minimum threshold, they will be able to view survey results in their reporting suite.
Learn more about the reports you’ll have access to.
💡What is the minimum threshold? The minimum threshold is the number of responses needed before you can generate a report. It is usually set to 5 but can sometimes be as low as 3.
Step 5: Clinic/PHO reviews their results at regular intervals
Clinics/PHOs should regularly review their results and take action on any insights that need urgent attention. Clinics/PHOs can then measure the impact of their actions over time using their reporting suite.
Additional functionality or services
The following functionality or services are also included as part of Patient Voice:
- New health professional detection: The AskYourTeam-PMS integration detects new health professionals at a clinic/PHO and automatically adds them to the Patient Voice service.
What is each organisation responsible for?
To ensure the success of Patient Voice, each organisation must perform specific tasks. These are listed below.
AskYourTeam
- Integrate the PMS with the AskYourTeam system: This allows invitations to be automatically sent to patients after their appointment, so they can provide feedback on their experience.
- Confirm with the clinic/PHO the method invitations will be sent: For example, email, SMS or pre-printed QR code. This is managed through the AskYourTeam system, not the PMS.
- Set-up the survey in AskYourTeam: This includes confirming the survey questions and the content of automated communications with the clinic/PHO.
- Provide an opt-out for patients: A link to unsubscribe from future invitations to take the survey. This is managed through the AskYourTeam system, not the PMS.
PMS
- Allow integration with the AskYourTeam system: The PMS must allow AskYourTeam to integrate with their PMS API and pass the patient information as outlined earlier in this guide. This information is only used by AskYourTeam to send survey invitations to patients.
Clinics
- Let new health professionals know about Patient Voice: If a health professional starts after Patient Voice is implemented for a clinic, the new starter must be informed that they’ll be added to the survey, and results or feedback may be shared with them.
- Let patients know about the survey: The clinic needs to notify patients that they'll receive a survey after their appointment. This is due to regulations from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (Health Information Privacy Code 2020).
Useful resources
Here are a few additional resources on Patient Voice:
- Communication support resources: Clinics can use the following resources to help inform their patients about the Patient Voice survey:
- Integration diagram: Download a visualisation of how the Patient Voice process works and how information travels between the organisations involved.