Comparing psychiatric care experiences shared online with validated questionnaires; do they include the same content?

Patient feedback is considered integral to patient safety and quality of care. However, limited research has compared the content of validated questionnaires with subjective patient experiences shared online. The aim of this study was to therefore identify and compare the content of psychiatric care experiences shared online with validated questionnaires. All research was conducted in co-production with a volunteer mental-health-patient-research-partner. We analysed all reviews published on the United Kingdom’s leading health and social care feedback platform Care Opinion, between 2005-2017 that discussed adult psychiatric care and compared findings with two validated questionnaires (ACP360 and General Medical Council patient feedback questionnaire). Our research findings show that patients describe some different measures of psychiatric care quality online and use different terminology to those used in validated questionnaires. Psychiatric care was also rarely discussed in relation to an individual psychiatrist alone. Multiple interactions affect patient experience and perceived care quality. Further work is needed to incorporate patient perceptions and terminology of care quality into patient feedback questionnaires and surveys. This may best be achieved through co-design although exploration of this approach is required. The current focus of patient feedback in revalidation is of limited value as patients do not typically disaggregate the care provided by an individual clinician from the wider healthcare team, system or environment. Although focused on psychiatry, research findings have clear implications for those looking to facilitate quality improvement and professional development.