Patient feedback: Guide to collect, act on & improve care quality 

Healthcare teams receive plenty of feedback from patients, but rarely in a form that is easy to use. Some shows up as online reviews, some comes through staff conversations, some appears in surveys, and a lot never reaches the right person at all. The information is all there, but it is scattered across different channels and moments throughout the patient journey. 

This often leads to a common issue: decisions end up being based on isolated comments rather than reliable patterns. Without structure, it is hard to tell whether a concern is a one-off remark or a signal that something in the operation needs improvement. 

But when feedback is gathered and reviewed in a consistent, centralized way, it becomes a reliable tool for improving care quality, communication, and overall patient satisfaction. 

This guide breaks down how to build that structure using practical steps and tools that make patient feedback easier to manage and act on. 

Where and when to collect patient feedback

The best way to collect useful patient feedback is to gather it at different points in the patient journey. 

Before the visit

Patients may interact with your website, call center, or WhatsApp line. Asking a quick question like “Was it easy to book your appointment today?” helps you know whether your scheduling process is smooth or confusing. 

During the visit 

This is where people notice wait times, staff behavior, cleanliness, and how comfortable they feel. A simple tablet survey at the front desk or QR code in the waiting room can capture patients’ comments while the experience is still fresh. 

Immediately after the visit

This is the best moment for short text or WhatsApp surveys. Patients can quickly rate clarity of instructions, whether their questions were answered, or how they feel about the care received. 

A few days later

Once patients start using medications or following care instructions, they may have a different perspective. A follow-up survey can reveal whether the treatment plan was easy to follow or if anything needs clarification. 

Longer-term

For chronic cases, periodic check-ins help track progress and identify gaps in ongoing care. 

Collecting feedback at multiple touchpoints creates a more complete picture for your practice to act on. 

What are the methods and tools to collect patient feedback? 

There are many ways to collect patient feedback, but they fall into two categories of processes. 

• How you send the request 

• Where the patient fills out the survey 

Channels like text messaging, WhatsApp, email, QR codes, and kiosks are mainly the delivery methods. The survey itself usually lives on a tool such as Google Forms, Typeform, SurveyMonkey, or a built-in CRM survey module. 

Common delivery channels 

1. Text messages or WhatsApp

These channels are ideal for quick outreach because patients almost always check their phones. You can send either: 

• a short question directly in the message 

• a link to a longer online survey 

Example: “Thank you for visiting today. Your feedback helps us improve. Please tap the link to share your experience.” 

2. Email

Email is best when you want to send a slightly longer explanation or when patients may want to respond later. 
 
Like text messages and WhatsApp, email also sends a link to the survey form. 

3. QR Codes 

Can be placed in waiting rooms, on posters, or in discharge summaries. Patients scan the code and are taken to the online feedback form immediately. 

4. Kiosks or tablets in the clinic

These are physical devices placed at reception or checkout where patients fill out the form directly on the screen. Helpful for walk-ins or patients who may not check messages later. 

5. Phone calls

These work well for older patients or cases needing personal follow-up. Staff can fill out a feedback form on behalf of the patient during the call. 

6. Online review platforms

Google, Practo, Healthgrades, and other review sites capture what patients choose to share publicly about their experience. These reviews often highlight issues patients may not mention directly to the clinic, which makes them valuable for understanding overall sentiment. 

However, because they are written in free-text form, they can be harder to organize or compare. You may see ten comments about waiting time, but without a system to categorize them, it is easy to miss patterns. 

Also, online reviews tend to show only the extremes; people who are either very happy or very unhappy are the most likely to post voluntarily. This means clinics should use review platforms as only one part of the picture. 

A healthcare CRM or feedback management tool can pull these reviews into one place and help teams tag, sort, and respond to them more systematically. 

Using healthcare CRM to organize patient feedback 

Survey tools collect responses, but a tool like CRM helps bring all feedback together. 
 
A healthcare CRM can: 

• store feedback from all channels in one place 

• link responses to each patient 

• trigger follow-up tasks or alerts 

• show trends over time 

For example, if someone fills out a negative survey, the CRM can automatically notify your team and assign a callback. 

With the right mix of channels and CRM support, feedback collection becomes consistent, trackable, and much easier to act on. 

Designing good feedback questions 

A good feedback survey should be short and easy for any patient to answer. Long or complicated questions often discourage people from responding. 

1. Keep questions short and clear 

Patients should be able to read and understand each question in one go. 

Bad: 
 
“How satisfied were you with the comprehensive set of services provided by our medical staff during your entire visit today?” 
 
Good: 

“How would you rate your overall experience today?” 

2. Avoid biased or leading questions 

Leading questions push patients toward a specific answer. 

Bad: 
 
“Our staff tries very hard to be friendly. Did you find them friendly today?” 
 
Good: 
 
“How would you rate your interaction with our staff?” 

3. Use inclusive, accessible language 

Avoid medical jargon and keep the wording simple so that people of all ages, language levels, and backgrounds can respond. 

Bad: 
 
“Did the clinician provide adequate post-operative care instructions?” 
 
Good: 
 
“Were your after-visit instructions clear?” 

4. Offer simple answer formats 

Yes/no, multiple choice, or 1–5 rating scales work well because they are easy to complete and easy to analyze. 

Sample mini-survey (4–5 questions) 

1. How would you rate your overall experience today? 
   (1–5 scale) 

2. How easy was it to book your appointment? 
   (Very easy / easy / okay / difficult / very difficult) 

3. How clearly did the doctor or staff explain what you need to do next? 
   (Very clear / clear / not clear / very unclear) 

4. How long did you wait before being seen? 
   (Less than 10 minutes / 10–20 / 20–30 / over 30 minutes) 

5. Is there anything we could have done better? 
   (Short text box) 

Acting on patient feedback 

Collecting feedback only matters if you have a systematic approach to act on it. Here’s how you can work on the feedback you get. 

Step-by-step flow 

1. Acknowledge 

Send a quick confirmation that you have received the feedback. This calms the patient and shows you are listening. 

2. Triage 

Decide how urgent the issue is and what category it belongs to (clinical, operational, communication, billing, reputation). 

3. Assign 

Create a task or ticket in your system and assign it to the right person (clinic manager, nurse, physician, billing team). 

4. Fix  

Investigate and take action. That might be a clinical review, retraining staff, scheduling change, or a billing correction. 

5. Follow-up 

Tell the patient what you did and check whether they are satisfied with the outcome. 

Integrating patient feedback with your healthcare CRM

Collecting patient feedback becomes efficient when you connect it to your CRM.  

Why CRM centralization helps 

Imagine feedback coming in from surveys, email links, and review sites. Without a tool like CRM, all of that stays in separate places, hence difficult to make use of. 

With a CRM like LeadSquared, you can: 

• Store all feedback alongside the patient’s record. 

• Pull together feedback over time and spot recurring issues — not just one-off complaints. 

• Use tagging and categorization (for example: “wait time”, “communication”, “billing”) to prioritize what to improve. 

Automations that make feedback actionable 

CRM automations help you act on feedback rather easily, without constant manual oversight: 

• Alerts: If a patient gives a low satisfaction score, the CRM can help by sending an alert to your team. 

• Ticket creation: Healthcare CRM like LeadSquared can be set up to automatically create a task or “ticket” for a manager, clinician, or operations lead when an issue is flagged. 

• Routing: Based on feedback type, the system can route issues to the right person. For example, “billing problem” → billing team; “medical clarity” → nurse or doctor. 

• Follow-ups: After fixing an issue, you can automate a thank-you message or a check-in to ask if the patient is satisfied with the resolution. 

Real-world clinic use case 

After a visit, a patient completes a 1–5 survey about their experience. If the patient gives a low rating, such as a “2,” the healthcare CRM can automatically create a case and notify the clinic manager. The manager can then assign a nurse to follow up with the patient, ensuring their concerns are addressed promptly. 

For patients who leave very positive feedback, the system can automatically send a “Thank you” SMS and invite them to share a Google review or refer others to the clinic. 

Measuring success with KPIs

1. Response rate 

This is the percentage of patients who complete your survey out of everyone you sent it to. If 20 surveys go out and 10 people reply, your response rate is 50 percent. 
 
A higher rate would mean you are getting a more accurate view of patient experience. 

2. CSAT (customer satisfaction score) 

This usually comes from a simple question like “How satisfied were you with your visit?” rated from 1 to 5. 
 
The average of all responses becomes your CSAT. 

If your score rises from 4.0 to 4.4 over a month, it means overall satisfaction is improving. 

3. NPS (net promoter score) 

This is based on the question “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or family member?” rated from 0 to 10. 
 
Higher NPS scores reflect stronger trust and long-term loyalty, not just a good visit. 

4. Time to close the loop 

This measures how long it takes your team to acknowledge feedback, address the issue, and follow up with the patient. 
 
Fast turnaround shows patients that their voice matters. 

5. Trends and patterns 

This refers to issues or compliments that appear repeatedly — like “long wait times” or “great nursing staff.” 
 
Spotting patterns helps you focus on the areas that will create the biggest impact. 

Putting patient feedback to good use – case study 

At three large hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil, hospital managers used patient feedback to drive real improvement. The hospitals set up systems to gather feedback through surveys, informal comments, and in-person conversations.  

Problem: Although these hospitals collected patient opinions, the feedback didn’t really lead to constructive change. Staff admitted they lacked a structured way to act on what patients were saying. 

Solution: They created a formal loop. Feedback was triaged, assigned to specific teams (nursing, operations, customer service), and addressed through quality-improvement projects. 

They also promoted a non-punitive culture; encouraging staff not to feel blamed when feedback was critical. 
 
Outcome: Over time, managers used Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a strategic metric and saw real improvements: patient feedback drove operational changes and created lasting quality improvements. 

Conclusion 

By now, the message is clear: patient feedback is about understanding what patients experience every day and using that insight to run a smoother, more responsive healthcare practice. 

Most healthcare teams may already be trying their best, but the struggle is managing the chaos; feedback scattered across WhatsApp chats, Google reviews, front-desk conversations, emails, and paper forms. Without a proper system, important issues slip through, and staff stay stuck reacting instead of improving. 

A structured approach and the right tools make all the difference. When feedback is centralized, organized, and turned into automated tasks, clinics can make the best use of patient feedback. 

This is exactly what a healthcare CRM like LeadSquared can do. It helps you centralize, organize, and automate feedback handling. 

Curious how that would look like for your practice? 

Feel free to book a quick demo of LeadSquared today! 

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