ANSBACH, Germany (April 11, 2014) -- For the last two months, U.S. Army Health Clinic Katterbach has been outperforming other health care sites across the Army in performance and customer satisfaction survey ratings.
Survey feedback placed the clinic's overall satisfaction rating at 95.5 percent in February and 95.7 percent in March. The survey evaluates all five of USAHC Katterbach's clinical areas: primary care, physical therapy, optometry, behavioral health and 12th Combat Aviation Brigade health care providers.
Customers are picked randomly to evaluate clinical services using the Army Provider Level Satisfaction Survey to rate areas that include staff courtesy and helpfulness, waiting times, time span between scheduled appointments, phone service, access to primary care managers and overall visit satisfaction.
The monthly results are posted in the reception area of Bldg. 5810 on the clinic's Army Health Clinic Statistics board for the public to see. The board compares USAHC Katterbach's ratings with Army averages and standards required by TRICARE.
Four of the survey questions -- overall visit satisfaction, overall phone service, staff courtesy and helpfulness, and seeing providers when needed -- can generate money when customers answer them positively. Percentage of positive responses to these questions are also on the board and are compared to the Army average and the Army Medical Command standard.
The two most recent board updates, February and March, showed USAHC Katterbach ahead of both the Army and MEDCOM in all four areas, according to Lt. Col. Rodney S. Gonzalez, USAHC Katterbach commander.
"That means last month we potentially earned up to $78,000 extra for Bavaria MEDDAC, and this month $101,000," said Gonzalez, who added that the difference in figures in this case is a result of the number of surveys completed.
The money goes to Europe Regional Medical Command, Gonzalez said, which distributes the money to Bavaria MEDDAC to use for their operations. Funding numbers are determined monthly, but the question of when MEDCOM provides funding -- and exactly what the money goes toward -- are both difficult to answer, he said.
"I wish I could tell you that we get the money and then, as a result, we were able to get an extra staff member or get this or that," he said. "With budget constraints, money's tight and I know Bavaria MEDDAC did not see as much as they expected last year, but we're hoping as they've looked a little bit more that that's going to change this year."
Clinics can actually lose money if they perform poorly, he added.
"We've just been fortunate," Gonzalez said. "In the last two months we've done very well. As I look at the trending of where those results came from, a lot of it is our 12th CAB. Their providers, their survey results have improved quite a bit. As a result, that helps us overall as a clinic."
Gonzalez said he wishes he knew the secret to such high results.
"If I knew I would reproduce it and I would tell all the other clinics," he said.
After some thought, though, Gonzalez said consistency in service is one of the keys: having providers in the clinic when patients want to see them and having accurate schedules in their systems so administrative specialists can give patients appointments immediately. For the phone service question, he said the survey evaluation is usually related to whether the clinic is able to give them an appointment.
Another factor in survey responses is how people feel when they fill them out.
"If you had a great visit two weeks ago, and that's the survey you were sent in the mail, but yesterday you came in and maybe the pharmacy didn't have the meds or you had to wait a little longer to get your labs done, you're going to be frustrated, and so it may hurt that response on that prior visit," he said. "Then again, if the one two weeks ago was bad, but the one yesterday good, it may help us."
Particularly important to Gonzalez are the staff courtesy and helpfulness survey results.
"A patient might come in wanting an MRI, and I may not be able to get the MRI because maybe it's not necessary, but I can at least be helpful when they're here," he said. "I can be courteous to them."
When he first took command in July, the survey response to that question averaged about 75 percent; however, throughout the past two months the clinic has averaged above 85 percent. Last month averaged almost 90 percent. He said it might seem strange to be happy about 90 percent, but positive responses to staff courtesy and helpfulness is something clinics struggle with because it often comes down to one person.
"You get one question," he said. "You don't get to answer, 'Well, this person was helpful, but not this person.' If one person, whether it be the front desk, whether it be the medic or nurse who did the screening, whether it be the provider, the pharmacy, the lab, the X-ray technician -- wherever it is, all it takes is one person to make or break that question."
According to the results board in the reception area, the staff likes to see positive responses to that question, along with the other three that can generate funding, but as it is printed on the board, "what we desire is an honest opinion of the service we provide you."
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