Patient survey question bank

Intake: enough to be safe, not everything at once

An intake form should collect what the practitioner needs before the first session and nothing that can wait until the person is in the room. For mental health intake that means contact and emergency details, the reason for seeking help, current support and medication, and a clear safety question with information about what happens if the answer raises concern. It should also say who will see the answers and how they are stored, since health information carries extra privacy obligations. Detailed history is usually better taken in conversation than in a long form a distressed person must complete alone.

Feedback: what the service can change

Client and member surveys work best when they ask about the parts of the experience the service controls: booking, waiting time, how clearly things were explained, the cost and whether the person would come back or recommend the service. The veterinary client bank asks about both the pet's care and the owner's experience, since the person answering is not the patient. The member survey bank applies the same thinking to a gym or wellbeing service, where the questions turn to classes, staff, equipment and space, and whether the member plans to stay.

Asking sensitive questions well

Explain why a sensitive question is asked before asking it. Offer a prefer not to say option wherever an answer is not essential, and never make a question required only because it would be interesting to know. Use plain words rather than clinical terms, and keep rating scales consistent through the form so people do not have to relearn them. When a form could reveal that someone is at risk, make sure a person reads the responses promptly. Each bank opens with how many questions to ask and the three never to skip.

Every page in this collection

• Gym member survey questions that spot who is about to leave

  A gym member survey has to find out who is quietly drifting away before they cancel, and whether the floor, the timetable or the staff are the reason. These questions tie every rating to how often the member actually trains, so a complaint about crowding can be read against when and how often they come.

• Mental health intake questions before a first session

  A mental health intake has to tell the clinician why this person is asking for help now, what has been tried before, and whether anyone is at risk before the first appointment. These questions gather that without turning a first contact into a clinical interview, and they leave room to say more in the room.

• Vet client survey questions for after the consult

  A vet client survey has to find out whether the owner understood what was wrong, knew what it would cost before treatment began, and felt their animal was handled with care. These questions ask about each of those separately, within a day of the appointment, while the bill and the conversation are still fresh.