FORT RUCKER, Ala. (February 14, 2013) -- Over the past few years, receiving a mailed survey from the Army Medical Command Office of the Surgeon General after a recent appointment at Lyster has probably become commonplace.

Most of you know the importance of completing and returning the Army Provider Level Satisfaction Survey. Providing us feedback helps us to improve services at Lyster, fostering a patient-to-primary-care-manager partnership to continually improve and achieve excellent health care.

Listening to you through surveys helps us identify desired and needed new services vital to your health care and to sustain and grow our health care facility.

The APLSS also yields financial incentives to Lyster from the OTSG, which are linked to the scores you give us. These funds are reinvested right back into your health care facility in the form of updated medical equipment, additional medications at the pharmacy, new staff or expanded patient education. For each survey returned, Lyster may receive up to $500 to put back toward your health care needs.

These funds are absolutely critical to our operations and allow us to continue to reach higher in delivering the "Gold Standard" of health care to our patients.

Lyster consistently maintains a customer satisfaction rate around 95 percent and ranks in the top three of the 40 Army medical treatment facilities across the world. We strive to ensure that services delivered to all of our patients remain exceptional.

Currently, about 1,000 surveys are sent out each month; however, only 200 to 250 are ever filled out and returned. Taking the time to fill out and return the survey allows the OTSG to see our progress and ensure services delivered to Soldiers and their Family members, as well as retirees and their Family members, remain exceptional.

"Attaining a 95.4 percent satisfaction rate based on returned surveys is exceptional," said Col. James Laterza, LAHC commander. "However, our return rates are low and we are missing out on valuable feedback from our patients on their experience at Lyster. We are your clinic and ask you to tell us about your care through APLSS when you receive it in the mail."

If you receive a mailed survey in response to an appointment experience at Lyster, be sure to fill it out and return it. We are working hard to ensure that we exceed your health care expectations and earn excellent ratings. We want to make sure we continually have your feedback.

Giving us high marks when we meet or exceed expectations, or letting us know where we might improve, goes a long way in maintaining and improving services for you -- our partners in health.