Patients have ranked more than two dozen Defense Health Network Central clinics and providers as the “best of the best” in the Military Health System for patient experience and customer care, according to a recent Joint Outpatient Experience Survey quarterly report.

“These exceptional results are a testament to the hard work, compassionate care and dedication of our health care providers and teams across our network,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas Harrell, DHN Central director and Medical Readiness Command Alpha commander. “It’s especially significant that this recognition is coming from our patients, who are at the center of all we do.”

Each quarter the Defense Health Agency uses JOES survey data, which measures patient experience and satisfaction during outpatient appointments, to generate a “best of the best” report. The survey requests feedback for multiple aspects of the visit, such as appointment timeliness, helpfulness of front desk personnel, provider trust and communication, medical history, access to care, and overall satisfaction with the visit.

The intent of the report is to spotlight the enterprise’s best-performing military medical clinics, providers, clerks and receptionists – each broken out by primary and specialty care. With 18 clinics and nine providers ranked as “best of the best” this quarter, DHN Central earned nearly 30% of the top 20 rankings across the six categories, according to the report.

Congratulations to the following DHN Central providers and clinics for earning a top 20 ranking:

Category 1: Top 20 Specialty Care Clinics

• 6th Medical Group, Physical Therapy Clinic, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
• 42nd Medical Group Optometry Clinic, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• Urology Clinic, Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas
• BAMC Optometry Clinic at McWethy Troop Medical Clinic, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston

Category 2: Top 20 Primary Care Clinics

• 49th MDG Family Practice Medicine Clinic, Holloman AFB, N.M.
• BAMC Family Practice Medicine Clinic at Westover Medical Home, San Antonio, Texas
• 22nd MDG Family Practice Medicine Clinic, McConnell AFB, Kan.
• 71st MDG Family Practice Medicine Clinic, Vance AFB, Okla.
• 22nd MDG Flight Medicine Clinic, McConnell AFB
• 49th MDG Internal Medicine Clinic, Holloman AFB
• Flight Medicine Clinic, Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas

Category 3: Top 20 Specialty Care Providers

• Scot Shaffer, 42nd MDG Physical Therapy Clinic, Maxwell AFB
• Maj. Katelin Staley, 42nd MDG Optometry Clinic, Maxwell AFB
• Matthew Armstrong, 2nd MDG Physical Therapy Clinic, Barksdale AFB, La.

Category 4: Top 20 Primary Care Providers

• Maj. Kevin Yeo, 49th MDG Flight Medicine Clinic, Holloman AFB
• Maj. Joseph Cherri, 22nd MDG Primary Care Clinic, McConnell AFB
• Autum Simmons, BAMC Family Practice Medicine Clinic at CPT. Jennifer M. Moreno Clinic, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston
• Capt. Nelson Shreve, 375th MDG Primary Care Clinic, Scott AFB, Ill.
• Capt. Holly Sensabaugh, 81st MDG Primary Care Clinic, Keesler AFB, Miss.
• Shannon MacLean, 377th MDG Flight Medicine Clinic, Kirtland AFB, N.M.

Category 5: Top 20 Specialty Care Clerks and Receptionists

• 81st MDG Physical Therapy Clinic, Keesler AFB
• BAMC Mental Health Clinic
• 628th MDG Optometry Clinic, Charleston AFB, S.C.

Category 6: Primary Care Clerks and Receptionists

• Family Practice Medicine Clinic, Bassett Army Community Hospital, Fort Wainwright, Alaska
• 436th MDG Family Practice Medicine Clinic, Dover AFB, Del.
• 59th Medical Wing Internal Medicine Clinic, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, JBSA-Lackland
• 60th MDG Family Practice Medicine Clinic, David Grant Medical Center, Travis AFB, Calif.

Patients typically receive the outpatient survey via email within 72 hours after an appointment but will not receive more than one survey every 90 days. It only takes about 10 minutes to fill out, but the feedback has a lasting impact on patient experience and satisfaction, Harrell noted.

“Feedback offers us an opportunity to identify trends and assess the need for process improvements not only within the clinic where the patient was seen, but across our enterprise,” the director said.

This feedback is also important on an individual provider level, Harrell noted, as it can improve transparency and the partnership between patients and their health care teams.

“We encourage our patients to fill out these surveys and welcome their comments, both positive and negative, as opportunities to learn and grow,” Harrell said.

For more information on JOES and other Defense Health Agency patient satisfaction surveys, visit MHS Patient Satisfaction Surveys.