Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple yet powerful metric used across industries—from tech and retail to healthcare—to gauge customer or patient experience. In psychiatric facilities, NPS offers valuable insight into how patients perceive their care and overall experience and thus can drive meaningful change to provided care. When used alongside other metrics, it can help you:
- Gain deeper insights into patient perceptions
- Recognize and celebrate staff contributions
- Identify areas for improvement
- Differentiate your facility in stakeholder communications
At its core, NPS is based on one straightforward question:
“How likely are you to recommend this facility to a friend or family member?”
Patients respond on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 = Not at all likely and 10 = Extremely likely.
How NPS Is Calculated
- Categorize responses:
- Promoters (9–10): Highly satisfied patients
- Passives (7–8): Neutral patients
- Detractors (0–6): Dissatisfied patients
- Calculate promoter and detractor percentages, e.g.:
- 100 promoters out of 200 responses = 50% promoters
- 50 detractors out of 200 responses = 25% detractors
- Subtract detractors from promoters:
- 50% – 25% = NPS of 25
Passives are excluded from the final calculation. The resulting score ranges from –100 to +100. A facility with only detractors would score –100, while one with only promoters would score +100. Most facilities fall somewhere in between.
NPS Across Industries
NPS benchmarks vary by industry. Some sectors naturally score higher due to the nature of their products or services. Within healthcare, psychiatric facilities can gauge performance by comparing their scores to industry benchmarks or to specific organizations they aspire to emulate.
Figure 1: On average, MHO’S client facilities have a higher NPS than other industries1 (2024)
(Non-interactive visual)
Improving Your NPS
There are two main strategies to improve your score:
1. Increase the number of promoters
Example: NPS rises from 25 to 50
2. Reduce the number of detractors
Example: NPS also rises from 25 to 50
But how do you actually make that happen?
Our analysis of patient satisfaction data revealed four key drivers that can shift a patient’s response by a full point—enough to move someone from a detractor to a passive, or from a passive to a promoter.
- A clean and comfortable environment
- Feeling safe during their stay
- Being treated with respect
- Finding therapy groups helpful (for outpatient settings only)
What Influences Your Patient Recommendations?
Interestingly, patients’ likelihood to recommend a facility is often shaped more by how they feel during their stay than by how much they improve. While clinical outcomes are critical, don’t underestimate the impact of a respectful, safe, and clean environment—especially in psychiatric care. Further, every facility has its own unique set of drivers influencing satisfaction metrics, including NPS. Let’s connect to explore your specific drivers of patient satisfaction.
References
- XM Institute. (2025, September 16). 2024 XMI customer ratings – consumer NPS (by industry). Qualtrics. https://www.qualtrics.com/articles/customer-experience/xmi-nps-benchmark-2024/ [qualtrics.com]
