July 6, 2001

The top performers from the annual phone survey of outpatient practices recently were recognized by the Customer Service Department for the MGH and the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO). The survey measures how easily callers can directly reach practice staff; courtesy and helpfulness of staff who are answering phones; and ease of using phone systems. The overall winners were: Cardiac Surgery, Physical Therapy, Social Services, Pediatric Surgery and MGH Charlestown Mental Health/Social Services.

Members of Cardiac Surgery, left, received the top score for overall performance.

More than 80 outpatient practices were called by an external survey vendor during a five-week period. According to Diane Hanscom, of MGH/MGPO Customer Service, overall performance only was a little better than last year's survey, but there was improvement in important areas such as access and courtesy.

Staff in Vascular Surgery, right, were chosen as the "most courteous."

"Answering the phones in a courteous manner when patients and others call is a high priority for the hospital and the MGPO," says Hanscom. "We still have room for improvement, but we are encouraged to see significant improvements in those practices that worked on their systems and sent staff to training."

Many efforts are under way to help practices improve, including the continuation of a phone service training course and modifying the phone survey to give practices feedback on a quarterly basis.