My Focus Group Experience

The largest mole on my back was malignant melanoma, stage zero.
I have become very jaded by the influx of customer satisfaction surveys I receive daily in my email, receipts and sometimes snail mail. So much so that I ignore them all these days. I mean, I don't care to spend my precious blessed hours clicking off boxes so that the dentist, car repair shop, Wal-Mart, Chili's, the vet, gym or the IRS can better serve me. Uncle!
I was very intriged however, to recive a written invitaion to join a focus group for the plastic surgery and dermatology center. Yes, I've had plastic surgery. Once. To remove suspicious moles from my face. Which thankfully, were benign. But not from this outfit. I am a dermatology patient there. 
Now, I'm thinking focus group. Right. Like on Mad Men when Peggy got ladies together to try out lipstick colors. Okay, that might be fun. Maybe they have some new skin care line or something to try out. With an offer of dinner and an unspecified $25 gift card, I signed up. I mean after all, I don't work. I only have one kid left at home and she's grown. My husband travels for work. All I do is go to the gym. 
I dressed up, with an aim to look professional and smart. Stop laughing.
There were a total of four patients in the group. Sandwiches, cookies, chips and beverages were available. I had the choice of a $25 gift card to McDonald's or Bed Bath and Beyond. My son is in a new apartment, so I briefly considered the latter. But I'd already outfitted his kitchen and bath, so didn't think it would be a useful value. I smiled and requested the last McDonald's card. That will buy a lot of sweet teas.
We first filled out a form describing our experience in the practice, whilst we ate. The meeting was led by a woman who works for the hospital (the dermatology group is owned by the hospital). I recognized her as the HR woman who did my on-boarding when I was hired as an EMT to staff a new satellite emergency room five years ago. She'd put on weight and wasn't as peppy as I remembered. Well, it was late in the evening. I suppose she was a morning person. Anyhow, I didn't mention any of this to her.
She asked us the questions on the paper and wrote our responses on white boards. We discussed everything from the waiting room, front desk to the care we received. I brought up the subject of the Patient Portal. I have received invitations to join three different ones: Dermatologist, Family Doctor and Gynecologist. They are all different sites and software. None are easy to join or navigate. And all of them are empty! They are supposed to have all of you information on them, lab results, medication lists, exam notes. You are supposed to "communicate" with your doctor, make appointments, request refills, pay balances due. But they are useless!
The other patients agreed, as did one of the staff. I suggested they have a contact person we could call with issues surrounding the portal. And someone to populate it! It's a big waste of money and time if  no one ever uploads anything to it.
Imagine my surprise that one month later I received an email invitation to join their "new" patient portal. Not only had they changed the software, my entire dermatologic history was there to read.
Somebody listened to me. Wow.