Social Media Feedback as a Mirror of Patient Experience in Healthcare Management

Abstract

Digital connectivity has become a central channel for patients to share their experiences with healthcare services, particularly through platforms such as Facebook, Google Reviews, and X. These online spaces offer fast, visible feedback that mirrors long-standing patient-experience concerns, especially around communication, empathy, waiting times, and staff responsiveness. This study examines digital patient feedback within Malaysian healthcare by analysing sentiment patterns from 2,000 social media posts and exploring how healthcare staff interpret and respond to such feedback. A convergent mixed-methods design was used, combining sentiment analysis with 28 semi-structured interviews involving administrators, project managers, frontline staff, and customer-service personnel. The sentiment analysis showed that patient care and communication attracted the highest share of positive posts, with favourable narratives highlighting empathy and professionalism. Staff responsiveness recorded the most negative sentiment, driven by delays and difficulties obtaining assistance. Monthly trends and statistical tests confirmed that sentiment varied across time, reflecting operational pressures and seasonal workload patterns. The interviews revealed that while digital feedback is valued for its immediacy, organisations struggle with high volumes of unstructured comments, limited analytic tools, inconsistent review processes, and uncertainty about who holds responsibility for acting on online narratives. Participants noted that acknowledging feedback strengthens trust, while ignoring concerns undermines confidence and discourages future engagement. Challenges included resource constraints, manual workflows, skills gaps, and cultural resistance to adopting digital practices. Together, the findings show that social media provides meaningful insight into patient expectations and service bottlenecks, but its value depends on organisational readiness, structured processes, and a culture that supports the use of patient voice in decision-making. The study highlights the relevance of integrating digital feedback into routine quality-improvement and project-management systems to strengthen healthcare responsiveness in Malaysia.