2019-2020
CDC
We helped the South African National Department of Health to implement a mobile patient satisfaction assessment (PSA) where patients can provide feedback about their experience at health facilities at any time. Patients scan a QR code which automatically identifies the facility they are at and allows them to anonymously provide feedback on certain aspects of their experience at the facility. Patients can either use their own phones or the tablet device installed at the facility.
Each facility receives a poster with their own unique QR code and short URL link. Scanning the QR code or entering the URL takes the user directly to the survey. Users can choose their preferred language from a range of local languages. A different set of questions have been developed depending on whether the user is an inpatient or outpatient. The survey uses emoji’s for the various responses and hovering over an emoji displays its meaning in the language selected.
Patients can use their own mobile phones or the tablet device provided to the facility for the survey. The survey uses a minimal amount of data to make it more useful to patients. Data collected via the app is posted directly into the Provincial DHIS2. Satisfaction rate indicators have been created for each question, as well as overall satisfaction rates. These are displayed on the PSA dashboard in the DHIS2 database for managers to access.
The facility staff and a clinic committee or hospital board member is trained on how to promote the survey and support patients using it. NGO partners are also trained to support facilities in implementing the system, especially with regards to patient messaging.
Devices provided to facilities are secured to ensure they are not removed. The sim card is white listed so only the survey apps can be accessed, a pin code is required to access any other functions other than the survey, and the sim card will not work if it installed on another device. To ensure patient privacy, the data captured is not identifiable to a patient in any way.
Achievements
- Over 350 facilities fitted with PSA devices