Research article

KIDMAP, a web based system for gathering patients' feedback on their doctors

Tsair-Wei Chien^1,2* , Weng-Chung Wang^3* , Sho-Be Lin² , Ching-Yih Lin⁴ , How-Ran Guo⁵ and Shih-Bin Su^5,6,7

¹  Department of Management, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan

²  Department of Hospital and Health Care Administration, Chia-Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan, Taiwan

³  Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Learning Needs, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, PR China

⁴  Department of Internal Medicine, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan

⁵  Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

⁶  Department of Biotechnology, Southern Taiwan University, Tainan, Taiwan

⁷  Tainan Science Industrial Park Clinic, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Medical Research Methodology 2009, 9:38doi:10.1186/1471-2288-9-38

Published:	17 June 2009

Abstract

Background

The gathering of feedback on doctors from patients after consultations is an important part of patient involvement and participation. This study first assesses the 23-item Patient Feedback Questionnaire (PFQ) designed by the Picker Institute, Europe, to determine whether these items form a single latent trait. Then, an Internet module with visual representation is developed to gather patient views about their doctors; this program then distributes the individualized results by email.

Methods

A total of 450 patients were randomly recruited from a 1300-bed-size medical center in Taiwan. The Rasch rating scale model was used to examine the data-fit. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis was conducted to verify construct equivalence across the groups. An Internet module with visual representation was developed to provide doctors with the patient's online feedback.

Results

Twenty-one of the 23 items met the model's expectation, namely that they constitute a single construct. The test reliability was 0.94. DIF was found between ages and different kinds of disease, but not between genders and education levels. The visual approach of the KIDMAP module on the WWW seemed to be an effective approach to the assessment of patient feedback in a clinical setting.

Conclusion

The revised 21-item PFQ measures a single construct. Our work supports the hypothesis that the revised PFQ online version is both valid and reliable, and that the KIDMAP module is good at its designated task. Further research is needed to confirm data congruence for patients with chronic diseases.