MarketScope

Practice Scope is Market Scope’s new online survey application designed to bring more value to survey participants, improve response rates, and ultimately improve the scope and precision of our reports on the ophthalmic market. Our new web based application builds on our successful paper-based survey process to make the process more efficient, to improve the privacy and security of survey data, and to bring added services to participating ophthalmologists.

 

US ophthalmologists now have the option of participating in our surveys using the traditional paper-based survey process or using Practice Scope online. In either case, they still receive a report on survey results designed to help them stay current with market trends, benchmark their performance, and gain insight into practice of medicine issues.

 

Practice Scope reduces the time required to complete surveys. The registration and login process provides key information that tells us which surveys and questions are applicable, and branching features within the survey allow the system to skip unnecessary questions based on previous answers. As an example, if the participating doctor does not offer refractive lens exchange then we do not need to ask about RLE IOL selection, RLE procedure volume, or RLE patient pricing.

 

 In addition, we designed the system to allow for interruptions. At any time during the survey process, participants can save results and return later to complete the survey. The Practice Scope Dashboard organizes all the participant’s activities in a single spot with convenient one-click access to all features of the web application.

 

Instant survey results are one of the most important advantages of Practice Scope. Immediately upon completion of a survey, participants are provided instant results on many questions. This instant feedback provides a snapshot of all survey responses to date for that particular survey, offering an early indicator of the overall response.  The instant survey results include the number of survey respondents to date in order to provide the proper perspective, and participants can revisit the site to check on the progress of the survey as long as it is active. 

 

As always, survey participants still receive a complete paper version of the final survey report once data is fully gathered and analyzed. Practice Scope members can also view past survey reports online by logging into their account.  In addition, we have included a feature that allows members to share past survey results with their colleagues.

Our new survey tool also includes an exciting new patient surveying function. This new feature provides the tools required to efficiently and effectively survey patients about their opinions regarding their treatment, their doctor, and the practice. Such patient surveys are an important part of a continuous practice improvement program and are designed to produce an ongoing measure of patient satisfaction over time that can be compared with  other ophthalmic practices.

Most patients report that the primary reason for selecting their ophthalmologist is a positive referral from a friend, family member, or co-worker. Practice Scope can help collect valuable feedback from patients to assure that the practice stays on track to produce those all-important patient referrals.

Consistently collecting patient survey data can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process, but our new online tools can streamline the process significantly. Practice Scope provides three different methods for inviting patients to participate. The most efficient method is an automated e-mail to patients with file upload capability—this allows a weekly or monthly batch process for survey invitations. The system also allows for a name-by-name data entry process that once entered will automatically send an e-mail invitation.

 

In addition, the system includes an in-office survey process that allows patients to use an iPad, laptop, or other computer to complete the survey while in the doctor’s office. This approach is particularly useful for collecting survey data from patients who may not have Internet access.

 

Aggregate patient survey results are available instantly at any time at Practice-Scope.com. Also, participating practices receive a quarterly summary report that compares their responses with national averages. And the process has built-in anonymity and privacy protection features that provide patients with the confidence to respond honestly and completely.

 

Privacy and confidentiality are increasingly important in the Internet age, and Practice Scope is designed with these concerns in mind. Participants create their own unique user ID and password, allowing them to control access to surveys and reports within the system. Practice-Scope.com also accommodates an alternative user ID that is limited to administering patient surveys without access to survey results. The new web application also employs SSL encryption to protect messaging to and from the website.

 

In addition, the system is designed with extensive controls to make sure that all members are ophthalmologists or ophthalmic practice administrators, that users complete only one of each survey type per practice (and  patients complete only one patient survey per patient), and that all data within the system is secure. As always, survey data is only reported in aggregate. Also, with our new online tool, no paper version of our survey questions needs to be mailed or faxed and processed—this provides an additional layer of privacy protection.

Practice Scope is a new endeavor and our current version is a starting point. We expect to learn from our experience and your experience and to upgrade the application over time to improve its usability and add new capabilities. We are very interested in gathering feedback and ideas for improvement. For more information on Practice Scope, please contact Katie Cannady at katiec@market-scope.com or 314-835-0600 ext. 114.