Advanced Questionnaires - Recommended Naming Conventions
Why
Clear naming helps patients understand what a questionnaire is for, improves completion rates, and ensures patients feel like active participants in their care rather than data points.
What
The most effective naming convention for Advanced Questionnaire templates in PKB follows a (Friendly Name) (Clinical Code) structure. This ensures the patient knows what they are being asked to complete, while the clinician or admin team can still identify the specific validated tool used.
Keep it under 50 characters: Long titles can get cut off on mobile device notifications.
Consistency is key: If a patient is filling out a series of forms, ensure they all follow the same naming pattern.
Capitalisation: Use Sentence case (e.g., Your health review) rather than BLOCK CAPITALS, which can feel aggressive or like a system error to patients.
How
Use the friendly name and clinical code format when creating new advanced questionnaire templates for both the patient and clinician needs.
The most effective naming convention follows a structure that prioritises the patient’s understanding while retaining clinical utility.
Avoid medical jargon
Avoid names like "Orthopaedic Intake V2" or "Discharge Form_FINAL." Patients should feel like the form is part of their care, designed for them to complete, not a piece of hospital admin.
Use patient-friendly language
If a questionnaire is time-sensitive, the name can reflect that and still be patient-friendly and easy to understand.
Instead of: "Pre-Op Assessment"
Use: "Pre-Surgery Health Check"
Adding descriptions
In PKB, while the title needs to be concise, the beginning of the questionnaire template can have an introduction.
GAD-7 Questionnaire example: "This short questionnaire helps us understand how you’ve been feeling lately, so we can provide the best support possible. It should take about 3 minutes to complete."
Recommended Naming Conventions
Clinical Tool | Recommended Display Name | Why it works |
EQ-5D-5L | Health and quality of life questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L)
| Provides immediate context for an otherwise abstract code. EQ-5D-5L means nothing to most patients; Quality of life gives it context. |
GAD-7 | Anxiety symptom questionnaire (GAD-7)
| Transparency helps the patient mentally prepare for the nature of the questions. |
PHQ-9 | Mood & wellbeing Questionnaire (PHQ-9) | Mood & wellbeing feels more holistic and less stigmatising than Depression. |
PROMs | Post-Surgery progress tracker (PROMs) | Frames the data collection as a tool for tracking their recovery journey. |
PREMs | Feedback on your care (PREMs) | Explicitly invites the patient to share their voice and experience. |
CORE-10 | Check-in on your daily life (CORE-10) | Using Check-in feels like a supportive touchpoint. Since CORE-10 measures global distress, focusing on daily life makes it relatable. |
DLQI
| Skin & lifestyle impact questionnaire (DLQI) | Skin issues affect patients' social life and work. Impact validates their experience beyond just the physical symptoms. |
DIALOG+ | Rate your quality of life at the moment | Asking people how they are feeling at that moment in time about their life and quality of care. |
Further Information
Advanced Features Guide: Scoring, branching, coded fields, flexible delivery
Questionnaire Request Form: Ask PKB to build new templates for your team
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