How does ‘Together’ benefit healthcare providers?

Healthcare providers that are listed on ‘Together’ can benefit from:

• Widespread recognition of their good work
• Peer recognition
• Opportunity to showcase facility highlights on a widespread platform catering directly to the target audience
• Opportunity to address certain facets of the Clinical Establishment Act

Will smaller healthcare facilities lose out on ratings to bigger facilities?

Not necessarily! Mothers will provide feedback on WHO-recommended, non-clinical quality of care indicators that are not dependent on the size of the facility, or how well-resourced it is. The questions are on simple things from a mother’s perspective, that matter to her maternity experience. Similarly, the facility will not face extensive costs to put the improvements into practice.

How many QoC indicators will the mothers be surveyed on?

9 (with yes or no answers) + 1 overall satisfaction meter

Why is the last question a general star rating question?

Research has shown that obtaining a patient’s cumulative  opinion on the facility can offer insight into their level of satisfaction with the facility. Overall satisfaction is subjective. Therefore, instead of maintaining an indicator that recommends a facility, an overall star rating encompasses areas that are not covered in the questions.  A five-star rating by a mother is also indicative that she recommends the facility. A star rating offers interpret-ability of results and creates the ability to track changes (improvement or deterioration) in the overall satisfaction of mothers.

How will you know if a review is authentic or not?

A prospective reviewer (mother) will be able to post their reviews, anonymously if they wish but would have to sign up/sign in to make any kind of post on the platform. We will also have anti-fraud review mechanisms in place that will flag certain reviews for the provider. The provider will have the final say in deciding which reviews get published on the platform.

Does a facility have to pay to be listed on ‘Together’?

Currently, facilities do not need to pay to be listed on ‘Together’.

What is the use of us collecting feedback when we don’t have the budget/resources to take care of it?

The feedback is collected on the basis of criteria that are important to the mother’s experience, and will not stretch the facility’s budget to implement. For instance, steps like increased support and guidance in breastfeeding, or initiating early bonding between mother and child through skin-to-skin contact can be implemented across both well-funded and resource-strapped sectors.

Can we add more questions to the survey?

No. The questionnaire has been developed after extensive research and careful consideration of Quality of Care (QoC) indicators defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), and aligning them with FOGSI,  PRSMA, NRHM guidelines and recommendations. We have taken great efforts to design our survey to capture the mother’s peripartum experience in keeping with these parameters. 

Will you be sharing the data?

Consolidated & aggregated data will be available to everyone so that every mother can make the right choice.

My patients speak only Hindi/Marathi. How can they take the survey?

We have kept in mind the diversity of your patients and made the survey available in English, Hindi and Marathi. The patients will also have the option of giving their feedback over the phone, in a language they are comfortable with.