Industry Focus

evolve to match the citizen. This is part of what Patient Opinion Australia offers. It's about preparing organisations to be future-ready, rather than using 20th- century systems, no matter how perfectly they seem to suit the current needs of health organisations. The key principles that distinguish Patient Opinion are as follows: • We care about giving the public a voice (not necessarily a survey) where they can 'be heard', not just measured. • We start with what the storyteller (patient, carer, service user, friend, staff) wants to say, not what the health organisation wants to ask them. • We believe we can change their stories on your website, visit patientopinion.org.au/info/api to download our free widget. Associate Professor Michael Greco is a founding Director and Chief Executive of Patient Opinion Australia. He is a Director on boards of health organisations such as CheckUP Australia and Health Leaders Australia. He holds Honorary Professor and Senior Research Fellow posts at the School of Medicine, Griffith University, and the University of Exeter Medical School. Michael's background is in healthcare, evaluation and clinical pastoral education. He has a PhD in Medical Education and a Bachelor of Theology. Patient Opinion: CEOs' perspectives on the platform "We launched Patient Opinion in July 2012 and immediately our staff began hearing how their patients and carers felt about the services and programs we provide and the difference we are making. We publish the stories in our monthly staff newsletter, and our board reviews the stories each month. The feedback is open and honest and, as it is from the patient's perspective, it allows all levels of the organisation to see what services are valuable and what more we can do. We make an effort to recognise the staff mentioned in stories and we have also made a number of changes as a direct result of feedback received." – Nancye Piercy, CEO, Murrumbidgee Medicare Local "We've been using Patient Opinion for eight or nine months now. I hadn't anticipated [that it would become] one of the biggest levers [in] the culture of our organisation. We learnt how difficult it was to put ourselves in the shoes of the patient. We now have patient experience stories at every board and executive meeting. It has changed our focus. We have learnt more from Patient Opinion than any survey we have done." – Lesley Dwyer, Chief Executive, West Moreton Hospital and Health Service healthcare by connecting people (storytellers and providers), not just by collecting data. • We do this in a public and transparent way so it benefits all. The public sees Patient Opinion as a safe and easy way to tell their story about their healthcare experience. And by writing on Patient Opinion (which is public, transparent and independent), the public encourages health services to become more responsive and patient-centred. For more information visit patientopinion.org.au, call 07 3354 4525 or email info@patientopinion.org.au. If your organisation is seeking to encourage your customers to write Healthcare • Issue 4 9 COMMUNICATION

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