Feedback loop

Did you know it is now mandatory for all doctors to have what is known as 360-degree feedback from their patients? The General Medical Council (GMC) has set out the guidelines for feedback questionnaires for patients to fill out. The idea of these reports is to help to support and encourage the professional self development of doctors across the profession, with specific questionnaires for particular areas of specialism.

Simon Moyes’ most recent patient feedback exercise was a tool developed by Edgecumbe Health – one of the leading occupational psychology companies providing assessment for doctors in the UK. The questionnaire combines patient feedback with self-assessment in order to get a realistic picture of a doctor’s performance. While this might seem an arduous process, it has been proven to be helpful in the professional development, as well as in helping to highlight any issues that need improvement.

Edgecumbe emphasises that their services are developmental in their purpose – aimed at supporting the work of doctors across the board. In their Doctor 360 system, feedback is requested from colleagues on behaviours and attributes that are relevant to the job, as defined by the GMC. Feedback is gathered from a range of perspectives – peers, support colleagues and patients – reflecting a range of views from the most important relationships in a doctor’s professional role.

The Doctor 360 Patient Feedback exercise incorporates a benchmarking method, showing the ideal benchmark rating for doctors in each speciality, against which the results of self-assessment and patient assessment are ranked.

According to Edgecumbe Health, Simon Moyes’ recent report shows “that Mr Moyes has almost always been rated 6 – the highest rating on the scale, which translates as ‘Extremely effective/excellent’ – and sometimes has results going above the very high benchmark [of 5.5], is testament to the outstanding work and professionalism that his patients report of him.”