A Complete Guide to Online Medical Surveys

Bioprinting organs on demand? Gene-based medication? Remote surgery? These are just some of the wild, whacky, and wholly possible futures of healthcare, and to reach there, understanding what people need is key. That’s why medical surveys have become essential tools for the healthcare industry.

From learning about patient satisfaction to improving healthcare practices, online medical surveys are a simple way to collect and analyze medical data. This guide will walk you through:

• The different types of medical surveys, and how to use them effectively.

We’ll also cover:

• Tips for conducting better medical surveys
• Easy ways to implement them

Whether you’re a healthcare provider, researcher or just someone who cares about healthcare, read this guide to learn more.

Types of Medical Surveys: From Pro Bono to Paid

Online medical surveys can range from comprehensive research studies to quick patient feedback forms. In short, a versatile tool for getting valuable insights into various aspects of healthcare.

Most medical research is so specific that you need custom surveys to get the right data. But if you use SurveySparrow's AI survey maker to create medical survey questions, you can save time + get better results.

If you don't want the hassle of design either, a medical questionnaire template might be just the tool you need. Sign up below to create medical surveys for free.

Now, let’s dive into the different types of medical surveys.

1. Online Medical Surveys: For Healthcare Professionals

First, let's explore the medical surveys that target the professionals, including doctors and nurses. 

Type A: Medical Surveys for Doctors

Medical surveys enable doctors to influence the development of new treatments, and improve patient outcomes. Additionally, many of these surveys offer compensation, giving extra reason to participate. 

What role do these surveys play? Let's go into detail:

• Prescription habits: Doctors give insights into the medications and treatments that they prefer. This helps pharmaceutical companies tailor their products to meet healthcare needs through online prescription tools.
• Patient care experiences: This information sheds light on how doctors manage patient care. As a result, it highlights the best practices and areas for improvement.
• New medications and treatment protocols: Doctors’ feedback on new treatments, and protocols, helps to measure how effective and accepted they are in the real world.

Type B: Medical Surveys for Nurses

Nurses are the Swiss Army knives of healthcare - they do a bit of everything and do it well. They provide patient care, medication management, and sometimes even a shoulder to cry on, all while dodging the occasional flying IV pole. 

This makes their input invaluable for medical surveys. Medical surveys for nurses typically focus on:

• Patient care experiences: Compared to doctors, nurses have a more personal relationship with patients. This means that they can provide information on the more practical aspects of care delivery.
• Feedback on medical equipment and procedures: Nurses interact with medical equipment and procedures daily. This makes their opinions crucial for improving healthcare tools and protocols.
• Work environment and job satisfaction: Facing issues with healthcare staff retention? These surveys are the solution for understanding job satisfaction levels and the work environment.

Type C: Surveys for Physicians

Physician surveys cover a broader category of doctors that includes general practitioners, specialists, and surgeons as well. These surveys often go a bit deeper than the patient experience. 

They can explore:

• Clinical practices and protocols: Physicians’ insights can reveal variations in their treatment approaches. These help to highlight the areas that need to be standardized.
• Patient outcomes: By collecting and comparing data on patient outcomes, these surveys help to judge the effectiveness of a treatment.
• Healthcare challenges: Physicians can provide valuable information on the challenges they face in delivering healthcare. These help to identify hidden issues in the system.

Type D: Paid Medical Surveys - For Nurses and Doctors

Healthcare professionals are always busy, but getting their feedback need not be. 

By compensating them for their time and expertise, you will get more detailed responses and collect more reliable data. 

This compensation can come in various forms, including monetary payments, gift cards, or continuing medical education (CME) credits. In one study, the Ontario Ministry of Healthcare doubled the response rate to their medical survey by offering gift certificates. 

Nurse Feedback Form Template

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Use This Template

2. Online Medical Surveys: For Patients

Next, we'll dive into the most common types of medical surveys targeting patients.

Type A: Medical Symptom Surveys

Medical surveys often include checklists of symptoms that patients complete before their appointments.

These pre-appointment surveys serve three key purposes:

• Assessing symptoms: Patients can self-report the duration, severity and frequency of their symptoms. This helps to guide the appointment and treatment plan.
• Improving appointment efficiency: Research shows that patients who complete this medical survey are more likely to attend their appointment - and require less time for the appointment.
• Determining the need for appointments: Medical surveys enable people to decide if their symptoms need a medical check-up or if they can be safely managed at home.

Type B: Treatment Satisfaction Surveys

A US study showed that hospitals whose surgery patients reported high levels of satisfaction also performed higher quality procedures. While this may be a chicken-and-egg scenario, treatment satisfaction surveys do play an important role. 

Let's see how: 

• Treatment experiences: To understand what works and what doesn’t, healthcare providers use medical surveys to get detailed accounts of the patient's experience with the treatment.
• Side effects of medications: Patient survey reports can reveal patterns, and help with adjusting dosages or switching medications.
• Overall health and wellness: Medical surveys are also used to track the long-term effects of the treatment and its impact on the quality of life.

3. Medical Research Surveys

Medical research is a broad area that covers everything from basic desk research to in-depth clinical research. So, medical surveys are a crucial tool here as they provide a standardized method for collecting the data that you need. 

Here are some of the roles that medical surveys play:

• Clinical trials: Participants provide data on the effectiveness and side effects of new medications.
• Public health planning: These surveys gather data on the prevalence and risk factors of a disease. This is useful for public health planning and intervention.
• Preventive care: By collecting data on patients’ lifestyle choices and medical history, surveys can identify the symptoms and health risks. This helps create targeted prevention strategies.  

4. Medical Market Research Surveys

Let's take the example of the Indian healthcare market. Research tells us it was worth $110 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $638 billion by 2025. This tells us that the role of medical market analysis is only going to grow as well. 

Medical market research surveys focus on understanding market trends and consumer preferences in the healthcare industry. These surveys will cover:

• Product preferences: Collecting data on patients’ preferences for medications, medical devices, or health services.
• Competitor analysis and benchmarking: Enabling healthcare companies to differentiate their products and services.
• Product innovation: Uncovering specific medical needs that aren’t properly met by existing tools. Here's a great example from Apple. 

Patient Satisfaction Survey Template

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Conduct Smarter Medical Surveys: 8 Best Practices

Conducting smarter medical surveys involves using best practices to ensure high-quality data collection and analysis. Here are some tips:

1. Define Clear Objectives

Before designing a medical survey, clearly define its objectives. What specific information are you seeking?

Understanding the purpose of the survey helps to create the right questions and ensure that the survey meets its goals.

2. Use Simple and Clear Language

During my last medical appointment, I got a checklist of symptoms to fill out. But the jargon was so thick, I gave up and decided it was easier to just tell the doctor how I felt in my own words.

To avoid this kind of confusion, make sure your medical surveys can be understood by even a 5th grader. Skip the jargon and use simple, clear language.

3. Ensure Anonymity 

Assure participants at the beginning that their responses will be anonymous and confidential. 

This encourages honest and candid feedback, leading to more reliable data.

4. Pilot Test the Survey

Conduct a pilot test with a small group of participants to identify any issues with the survey design or questions.

This helps in refining the survey before it is rolled out to a larger audience.

5. Use Multiple Channels for Distribution

Use the platforms that are convenient for your respondents to use - such as QR codes, SMS and even healthcare platforms. 

This will reach a  broader audience and increase the response rates.

6. Offer Incentives

Offering incentives, such as gift cards or monetary compensation, can motivate participants to complete the survey. 

But ensure that the incentives are appropriate, ethical and trackable. 

7. Analyze Data Thoroughly

Use advanced data analysis techniques to interpret the survey results. To reduce the time on number-crunching, you can use data analysis tools like SurveySparrow. 

You get auto-generated reports and dashboards, which comes in handy when you want to quickly spot trends and present the results to a wider audience. 

8. Share the Results with Participants

This is more of a guideline than a rule. When people understand how their feedback has helped to improve healthcare, it makes them feel good. 

And when they feel good, they are more likely to participate in future studies. 

SurveySparrow makes it simple to set up HIPAA-compliant medical surveys that follow these best practices. 

We also provide powerful tools to analyze your patient experience, show off your results, and respond to your respondents. Sign up below to get started.

10 Ethical Ways to Boost Your Response Rates in Medical Surveys

If only it was as simple as asking questions. Getting people to part with medical information isn't easy, nor should it be. 

But with the proper tools and approaches, you can get more responses on your medical surveys.Here's how:

1. Online Survey Platforms

Use online survey platforms like SurveySparrow to create and distribute surveys. 

These platforms are easy to use, have loads of customization options and are HIPAA-compliant. Plus they have survey encryption. 

Example: A diagnostic imaging provider dramatically increased its patient satisfaction with SurveySparrow. Read the full story here.

2. Mobile Apps

Use mobile apps to reach a wider audience, especially patients who may find it convenient to complete surveys on their smartphones. 

For instance, health apps like Samsung Health and Fitbit use forms to track health metrics like the user's exercise and diet routines. 

3. Email Campaigns

Email's effective because it lets your respondents finish the survey at their own convenience. 

But make sure your email service provides end-to-end encryption, secure transmission, and strict access controls to protect the data. 

4. Social Media

If the nature of your survey allows it, use social media platforms to reach a broader audience. 

For instance, you can share survey links on healthcare-related groups and forums, or relevant communities on Reddit and Quora.

5. In-Person Surveys

For some research studies, in-person surveys help to build trust. Like, for instance, research into substance abuse; topics like this require a personal connection between the researcher and the respondents based on trust. 

You can conduct these surveys in healthcare facilities, clinics, or community events to gather real-time feedback. 

6. Partner with Healthcare Organizations

Collaborate with healthcare organizations, such as hospitals and clinics, to distribute surveys to their patients and staff. 

This partnership can enhance the credibility and reach of your survey. 

7. Use QR Codes

By placing them in high-visibility areas (waiting rooms, examination rooms, etc.), you can collect immediate feedback while the experience is still fresh.

Some hospitals also incorporate QR codes in printed materials, such as posters and brochures. This gives people a convenient and private way to access the survey. 

8. Optimize for Different Devices

Ensure that your survey is optimized for various devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.

This provides a seamless experience for all participants and makes it easy for them to respond. 

9. Provide Multilingual Options

Language barriers can lead to misunderstanding or misinterpreting of survey questions, leading to unreliable data.  

In many regions, healthcare providers are also legally required to accommodate non-English speakers. Multilingual surveys help them follow these regulations while ensuring equal access to care.  

10. Follow-Up Reminders

Medical appointments can be tiring, right? Between the waiting, the tests, and trying to remember everything I need to mention, it's a lot to handle. The last thing I need is a survey. 

I'm sure this is true for most of your respondents. So follow up with reminders to people who haven't opened the survey. A gentle reminder can significantly boost response rates without seeming pushy.

Wrapping Up

In this article, we've explore the types of medical surveys, best practices to create a medical survey, and ethical ways to boost response rates.

In short, whether you’re conducting surveys for research, market analysis, or patient feedback, medical surveys can make the process efficient and effective.