title: KIDMAP, a web based system for gathering patients' feedback on their doctors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The gathering of feedback on doctors from patients after consultations is an important part of patient involvement and participation. This study first assesses the 23-item Patient Feedback Questionnaire (PFQ) designed by the Picker Institute, Europe, to determine whether these items form a single latent trait. Then, an Internet module with visual representation is developed to gather patient views about their doctors; this program then distributes the individualized results by email.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 450 patients were randomly recruited from a 1300-bed-size medical center in Taiwan. The Rasch rating scale model was used to examine the data-fit. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis was conducted to verify construct equivalence across the groups. An Internet module with visual representation was developed to provide doctors with the patient's online feedback.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-one of the 23 items met the model's expectation, namely that they constitute a single construct. The test reliability was 0.94. DIF was found between ages and different kinds of disease, but not between genders and education levels. The visual approach of the KIDMAP module on the WWW seemed to be an effective approach to the assessment of patient feedback in a clinical setting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The revised 21-item PFQ measures a single construct. Our work supports the hypothesis that the revised PFQ online version is both valid and reliable, and that the KIDMAP module is good at its designated task. Further research is needed to confirm data congruence for patients with chronic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. smile@mail.chimei.org.tw
authors.forename: Tsair-Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: Weng-Chung
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sho-Be
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ching-Yih
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: How-Ran
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Shih-Bin
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D013038:Specialization; D049250:Speech Recognition Software; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult