Products and brands can be copied, but relationships can’t.
Will Guidara, author of “Unreasonable Hospitality,” puts it this way: Someone will eventually build a better product or create a stronger brand than you. Your only real competitive advantage comes from investing in relationships.
At Private Physicians Alliance’s most recent annual meeting, Abby Williams, Director of Member Experience at Priority Physicians in Indianapolis, shared how her practice applies this principle. Her viewpoint is shaped by an unusual path: two decades in education, first as a teacher and then as a private school administrator; three years in technology as an Account Manager and later Director of Client Experience, partnering with organizations from law firms to non-profits to help them leverage technology in pursuit of their missions; and a personal healthcare experience that reshaped her perspective.
When her youngest son kept getting sick, Williams spent months going from doctor to doctor. No one took her concerns seriously. The eventual diagnosis was very high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The delay made his prognosis worse and required harsher treatment.
“I often think today what that journey would have been like if I had been at a concierge practice,” Williams said. “They would have taken me seriously. One doctor would be talking to the other. They’d see the lab work.”
That experience shaped her focus on member experience and feedback systems.
Why Feedback Matters Outside of Revenue
Patient satisfaction data does more than protect your bottom line.
Research shows that patients who feel positive about their care have better adherence to care plans and management of chronic conditions. Physicians gain awareness of underlying issues. Small wins emerge that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Williams shared an example. A patient recently called her to complain about the hold music. During that conversation, the patient mentioned back pain from gardening. A month later, when that patient referred two families to the practice, Williams sent a gardening kit with a bucket seat designed to reduce knee strain.
“That goes a long way. It was such an easy win,” she said.
Feedback also helps with hiring decisions. If survey data shows a physician comes across as less warm or extroverted, the next medical assistant hire can complement that style.
Happy members equal happy physicians and teams.
Feedback Strategies That Don’t Require a Survey
Surveys have their place, but Williams emphasized that keeping the pulse starts with everyday interactions.
Being fully present matters most. Guidara describes presence as caring so much about what you’re doing that you stop caring about all the tasks waiting for you next. In healthcare, that means slowing down long enough to actually listen.
Williams recommends building what she calls an “army of spies.” Encourage staff to share what they hear. Ask nurses what patients say about Spruce response times or concerns about vaccine availability. These internal sources catch issues before they appear in formal feedback.
External sources help, too. Williams asks trusted patients to review communications before sending them practice-wide. Those patients feel like part of the community and become proactive sources of feedback.
Other tactics include digital suggestion boxes via QR codes, monitoring social media comments, and rewarding thoughtful input. A handwritten note or a Starbucks gift card goes a long way when someone takes time to share constructive feedback.
Williams also puts patient details in her calendar. If someone mentions their father is having surgery next week, she schedules a follow-up call for Thursday. These small gestures build the kind of relationships competitors can’t replicate.
Using NPS Surveys in a Concierge Practice
Net Promoter Score surveys measure a single factor: how likely a patient is to recommend your practice to a friend or colleague.
Priority Physicians sends NPS surveys via text. The patient rates the practice from zero to 10, selects a reason for their score (responsiveness, overall relationship, quality of care, coordination of needs, consistency of experience), and then provides open-ended feedback.
The practice initially planned to survey twice yearly. After two rounds with similar results, they scaled back to once a year to avoid survey fatigue.
For context, the average healthcare NPS ranges from 30 to 40. Top health systems and private practices score above 50. Mayo Clinic and leading concierge practices reach 60 to 70. Priority Physicians scored between 88 and 91 in both rounds.
The scoring system categorizes respondents into three groups. Promoters (9–10) are patients who talk about your practice at soccer games. Passives (7–8) have had good experiences but aren’t actively recommending you. Detractors (0–6) require proactive outreach.
NPS measures the entire experience, not just the physician relationship. Invoicing, parking, front desk interactions, and hold music all factor in.
Williams also noted that patients who don’t respond at all may be the highest risk. Some have given up. Others are too busy. But the silence itself is worth tracking.
Acting on the Data
Collecting feedback has no value without follow-through.
Williams holds one-on-one sessions with each physician to review their results. The platform generates reports showing patient names, scores, and comments. These conversations start by celebrating wins.
“Being a physician is a hard job,” Williams said. “Some of the most difficult patients would never give them positive feedback, and then their comment would be, ‘I couldn’t live without Dr. McDonald.’”
Positive feedback gets shared publicly within the practice via email, with callouts for physicians, RNs, medical assistants, and front desk staff.
For detractors who request follow-up, Williams calls them after getting context from the physician. The conversations often surprise her. One patient claimed he never filled out the survey. Another said she had too much wine that night and was having a bad day.
AI-generated summary reports help identify themes across large patient panels. Williams tells physicians the report is AI-generated to remove any perception of bias. Recent themes at Priority Physicians included patient interest in longevity and menopause topics.
The consistent theme Williams sees across education, technology, and healthcare is universal: Patients want to be known better.
Private Physicians Alliance members can access the full recording of this annual meeting session, including the Q&A on survey timing, follow-up strategies, and building feedback systems from scratch. Learn more about membership to join the conversation.