Best questions for patient survey about lab services experience

Here are some of the best questions for a patient survey about lab services experience, plus expert tips on how to create them. Specific can help you generate your own—from ideas to analysis—in seconds.

Best open-ended questions for patient survey about lab services experience

Open-ended questions dig beneath the surface and reveal what patients actually think and feel. Use them when you want personal stories, explanations, or details that structured answers simply can’t deliver. For example, only 78.6% of patients in a national Ethiopian survey were satisfied with laboratory services, citing factors like staff presence and cleanliness—points you wouldn’t uncover without open dialogue. [1]

1. What aspects of your recent lab visit stood out to you—positively or negatively?

2. Can you describe how easy or difficult it was to check in for your lab appointment?

3. Tell us about your experience with our lab staff during your visit.

4. How satisfied were you with how long you had to wait before your tests?

5. What did you notice about the cleanliness and safety of our laboratory?

6. Did you encounter any unexpected challenges or delays at our lab?

7. How clear were the instructions you received about your tests or next steps?

8. Is there anything you wish had been explained better during your lab experience?

9. What would make your next visit to our lab better?

10. Please share any additional comments about your lab experience that we haven’t asked about.

Best multiple-choice questions for patient survey about lab services experience

Single-select multiple-choice questions keep things simple and quick. Use them when you want to quantify responses or make it easy for patients to participate—sometimes checking a box is less intimidating than writing a paragraph. They’re especially good for identifying trends that merit deeper follow-up. Combine them with open-ended questions for the richest set of insights.

Question: How would you rate the friendliness of our lab staff during your visit?

• Very friendly

• Somewhat friendly

• Neutral

• Somewhat unfriendly

• Very unfriendly

Question: How long did you wait to be seen for your lab test?

• Less than 10 minutes

• 10–20 minutes

• 20–30 minutes

• Over 30 minutes

Question: Was the lab facility clean and comfortable?

• Yes

• No

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" When someone selects a negative or surprising choice, following up with “why?” or “can you tell us more?” turns a blunt score into actionable context. For example, if someone felt the facility was not clean, a follow-up question like “Can you describe what made you feel the lab wasn’t clean?” can uncover whether it’s an isolated incident or a persistent issue—which is key, since cleanliness directly impacted lab satisfaction in major surveys. [1]

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Add “Other” when your options might miss unique experiences (like accessibility issues, privacy, or temperature). Letting respondents explain in their own words helps you catch insights you won’t anticipate, which can drive meaningful improvements after analysis.

Should you include a net promoter score (NPS) question?

NPS (Net Promoter Score) asks patients how likely they are to recommend your lab to friends or family, on a scale from 0 to 10. It’s popular because it gives you a quick, industry-standard snapshot of loyalty and satisfaction—both are vital in healthcare, where trust and personal recommendation matter. With only 12% of U.S. adults saying healthcare is handled “extremely” well, understanding this sentiment is essential for improvement. [2] NPS also encourages direct follow-up (e.g., “What is the main reason for your score?”), unlocking personal perspectives behind the numbers. Build an NPS survey for patients about lab services experience in seconds using Specific.

The power of follow-up questions

Automated follow-ups—like those built into Specific’s AI follow-up feature—make a huge difference in survey depth and quality. Instead of static forms, our platform listens, probes, and clarifies just like a live interviewer, leading to much better insights. Consider this:

• Patient: “The staff wasn’t helpful.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share a specific example of a time when you felt the staff could have been more helpful?”

One basic answer can transform into a detailed, actionable story—something you simply can’t get from most digital survey tools.

How many follow-ups to ask? Usually, you’ll want 2–3 contextual follow-ups per question, but you can set a max or let respondents skip ahead when you’ve captured enough detail. Specific’s settings let you define follow-up logic, keeping the experience relevant and respectful.

This makes it a conversational survey, allowing the participant to feel heard, not just checked off a list. It also boosts the response rate and quality.

AI analysis of open-text responses is painless with today’s tools—see our step-by-step AI survey response analysis feature and these tips for analyzing responses. Even large volumes of text become easy to digest with AI-driven themes, summaries, and instant insights.

These new-style automated followups are a game-changer—give them a try with our prebuilt prompt for patient lab experience surveys and feel the difference.

How to compose a great prompt for AI to generate survey questions

You don’t need to be a survey expert or copywriter—just point your AI at the problem. Here’s the prompt we like to start with:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Patient survey about Lab Services Experience.

However, the more context you give AI about who you are, your situation, and your goals, the better it performs. Example:

I work at a mid-sized hospital, and I want to improve our lab services. Please suggest 10 open-ended questions for a patient survey to understand how people experience checking in, waiting for their test, and interacting with staff. Focus on uncovering pain points and opportunities to improve communication and comfort.

Once you have your initial list, ask AI to help organize it:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Now, pick the categories most relevant to your focus (e.g., "Lab environment", "Staff communication"), and dig deeper with:

Generate 10 questions for categories Lab environment and Staff communication.

This iterative prompting process leads to brilliant, tailored questions for every use case.

What is a conversational survey (and why it matters)

A conversational survey is what it sounds like: it feels like a chat, not a form. The respondent answers questions in a natural flow, with context-aware AI probing deeper where needed. This format is especially valuable for uncovering service-level issues—like long wait times or unclear explanations—that can fly under the radar with traditional forms. For instance, in U.S. healthcare, major dissatisfaction is driven by issues such as high costs and rushed visits. [2] Conversational surveys give patients room to describe those points in their own words—enabling you to act on what truly matters.

Here’s a quick snapshot:

Why use AI for patient surveys? AI-powered surveys make it effortless to collect, organize, and analyze high-quality patient feedback—even for people who aren’t research experts. You get flexibility to customize but also speed: building a high-impact AI survey example or patient survey template takes minutes, not days. If you want to try building one from scratch, check our AI survey builder or this guide to creating surveys for lab services experience.

Specific’s conversational surveys make the process smooth—for both creators and patients. It keeps things engaging, natural, and gives you the context you actually need to drive meaningful change in your lab services.

See this lab services experience survey example now

Want to create a patient survey that captures detailed stories, not just quick ratings? Try an AI-powered conversational survey with specific follow-ups and instant analysis—start building yours today and see feedback in a totally new light.