In November 2022, current QSA members were invited to participate in the 2022 QSA Member Satisfaction Survey.

843 current QSA members participated in the survey which represented almost 20% of total QSA members. Most respondents completed the survey using the online link provided. A small number of respondents completed a paper copy of the survey which was available from QSA by request.

Following is a summary of survey question responses.

Q1 – How long have you been a member of QSA?

  • 9.3% have been a member for less than 6 months
  • 9.5% have been a member for between 6 months and 1 year
  • 41.57% have been a member for between 1 and 5 years
  • 39.9% have been a member for more than 5 years

Q2 – What type of stoma(s) do you have?

  • 47.09% have a colostomy
  • 32.94% have an ileostomy
  • 22.95% have a urostomy (also known as an ileal conduit)
  • 2.62% had another type of stoma

Q3 – Is your Stoma Temporary or permanent?

  • 8.67% have a temporary stoma
  • 87.05% have a permanent stoma
  • 4.28% were not sure if their stoma was temporary or permanent

Q4 – Who/what us your usual source of information about living with a stoma?

  • 31.24% said that QSA is their usual source of information
  • 37.77% said that their Stoma Nurse is their usual source of information
  • 16.86% said that Ostomy Australia is their usual source of information
  • 4.87% said that online support groups are their usual source of information
  • 9.26% obtain their information from other sources

Q5 – Who/what is your usual source of information about the Stoma Appliance Scheme (SAS)?

  • 64.37% said that QSA (including the QSA website) is their usual source of information about the SAS
  • 25.65% said that their Stoma Nurse is their usual source of information about the SAS
  • 3.92% said that the Department of Health and Ageing website is their usual source of information about the SAS
  • 1.66% said that online support groups are their usual source of information about the SAS
  • 4.39% said they obtained their information about the SAS from other sources

Q6 – Is the allowable quantity of products provided through the SAS enough to meet all of your stoma needs?

  • 89.07% said that the standard allowance of SAS products is sufficient
  • 10.93% said that the standard allowance is not enough to meet their needs.

Q7 – How often do you place your orders for SAS supplies?

  • 49.11% place their order monthly
  • 37.22% place their order every 2 months
  • 7.25% place their order every 3 months
  • 6.42% place their orders less frequently than 3 monthly

Q8 – How do you usually submit your request for SAS supplies?

  • 72.33% submit their order through their online portal account
  • 13.06% submit their order by email
  • .83% submit their order by fax
  • 8.19% submit their order by mail
  • 5.58% submit their order by dropping a form into QSA’s rooms

Q9 – For members who have registered for a QSA members online portal account, which statement best describes your experience?

  • 77.47% selected “The portal is great! It has simplified the ordering process and made keeping track of my order history so much easier”
  • 5.26% selected “I have registered for a portal account but I prefer not to use it to submit my orders”
  • 17.27% selected “I have not yet registered for a portal account”

Q10 – For portal users do you have any suggestions about how we can improve your portal experience?

This question requested a free text response and was intended to provide portal users with the opportunity to suggest ways in which their portal experience can be improved.  A few common suggestions emerged as summarised following. We have taken the opportunity to provide a response where further information can be provided.

A. Respondents’ requested access to a full product catalogue (including photos) when ordering SAS products through their portal account.

Products obtained through the Stoma Appliance Scheme are funded by the Australian Taxpayer through Medicare. It is therefore important that the appropriateness of products be confirmed with your Stoma Nurse or other healthcare professional before adding new items to your order. Your Stoma Nurse or other healthcare professional can provide you with the product code of any SAS item once it is deemed to be necessary for you to use.

B. Respondents asked to be notified when their portal order is ready for collection.

It is possible to see in your portal account when an order is ready for collection by checking for the addition of a “dispatch date” (ie: dispatched to the collection shelf) next to the order record.

As a result of survey feedback, we have asked our portal development team to enable direct email notification of order readiness for collection or dispatch in the next portal enhancement update.

C. Respondents requested the ability to attach a comment to their order.

As portal ordering is intended to eventually be a fully automated process, a comments feature is unlikely to be included in future portal enhancement specifications. However additional information or comments about a submitted portal order can be sent via email to [email protected]. A response will be provided within 2 business days.

D. Respondents reported confusion when submitting a two-month order through their portal account.

Question 9 of our Portal FAQ provides information and guidance about submitting a two month portal order.

E. Respondents requested the ability to track annual item limitswithin their portal account

As a result of survey feedback, we have asked the portal development team to enable this function in the next portal enhancement update.

F. Respondents requested visibility of the expiry date for their current Application for Additional Stoma Supplies (Medicare Form PB050)

As a result of survey feedback, we have asked the portal development team to enable this function in the next portal enhancement update

G. Respondents reported annoyance with having to duplicate their address details at checkout when making payment using the EWAY Secure Payment Gateway

It is not compulsory to complete your address details when making payment using the EWAY Secure Payment gateway. Only the payment details (card number, name on card, expiry date, and CCV) are required to be completed.

H. Respondents requested access to instructional videos be linked to their portal account, to assist with order placement and other functionality

As a result of survey feedback, we have asked the portal development team to consider in-program instructional guidance for a future portal enhancement update. In the meantime portal functionality guidance and other frequently asked questions can be found on our website.

I. Respondents requested better product descriptions to give clarity to the product type

Unfortunately, the product descriptions provided in the portal are extracted from the Stoma Appliance Scheme claiming program so we are unable to change these. However, each product description has a prefix which helps to identify the product type. The prefixes are:

Prefix Product Type
BAG 2 piece ostomy appliance pouch
BAG&BPL 1 piece ostomy appliance
BAR Barrier product
BPL 2 piece ostomy appliance baseplate
CAP Stoma Cap
CAT Catheter
CLE Cleanser Product
CRE Barrier Cream
CST Catheter Strap
DEO Deodorant
DRE Ace Stopper Dressing
FIL Filter
FLO High Output Collection Bag
FRA Barrier extender/elastic tape/frame
GAR Hernia Support Garment
GAS Pouch Gas Inhibitor
GEL Gelling Sachets
IPP Irrigation Pressure Plate
IWB Irrigation Water Bag
LBO Lubricating Deodorant
LBS Lubricating Deodorant Sachet
OIN Protective Ointment
ONB Overnight Drainage Bag
PAS Paste
POW Powder
PSH Protective Skin Sheet
REM Adhesive Remover Product
SEA Seal
SET Irrigation Set
SLE Irrigation Sleeve
SMB Small adjustable ostomy appliance belt
STO Ace Stopper

 

Q11 – How would you rate the support received from QSA when using the portal?

  • 56.2% rate the support as excellent
  • 16.93% rate the support as good
  • 2.2% responded that some improvement is required
  • 11.11% said that they have not required support with the portal
  • 13.57% do not currently use the portal to submit their order

Q12 – Which services available to QSA members have you used?

  • 40.14% have contacted QSA to obtain general information and/or support about living with a stoma
  • 20.55% have contacted QSA to obtain general information about the Stoma Appliance Scheme
  • 34.68% have requested information from QSA about the range and quantity of products available through the Stoma Appliance Scheme
  • 10.21% have accessed the QSA Stomal Therapy Advisory Service
  • 3.33% have accessed peer support through QSA
  • 12.11% have requested QSA assistance with obtaining a temporary increase in their allowance of SAS products
  • 2.38% have requested emergency assistance through the QLD Emergency Ostomate Support Service
  • 32.19% have not required support

Q13 – In our overall experience, how satisfied are you with the service provided by QSA?

  • 82.3% are very satisfied
  • 15.2% are generally satisfied
  • 1.54% are somewhat satisfied
  • .95% were not very satisfied

Q14 – Which region do you live in?

  • 29.85% live within Metropolitan Brisbane
  • 25.21% live within the Greater Brisbane area
  • 5.71% live within Gold Coast and Hinterland
  • 19.14% live within the Sunshine Coast and Hinterland
  • 2.62% live within the Toowoomba region
  • 2.26% live within Bundaberg and the Fraser Coast
  • 3.45% live within Central and Central West QLD
  • 1.55% live in North and North West QLD
  • 3.57% live in Far North QLD
  • 6.66% live in a region not specified

Q15 – Your Age Group

  • .83% are 20 years old or younger
  • 2.85% are aged between 21-40
  • 17.58% are aged between 41-60
  • 60.57% are aged between 61-80
  • 17.81% are older than 80
  • .36% did not disclose their age

Q16 – Are you of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin?

  • 1.78% responded “yes”
  • 96.56% responded “no”
  • 1.66% preferred not to say

Q17 – Are you a person from a culturally or linguistically diverse background?

  • 6.18% responded “yes”
  • 91.09% responded “no”
  • 2.73% preferred not to say

Q18 – Do you have any other comments you would like to add or suggestions about how we can improve our service to you?

This question required a free text response, the objective of which was to provide members with an opportunity to suggest ways in which our service can be improved. While the responses provided were overwhelmingly positive, some common themes were identified:

A. Some respondents requested that the monthly allowances of some products available through the Stoma Appliance Scheme be increased.

The Australian Government’s subsidised Stoma Appliance Scheme is administered by the Department of Health and Aged Care. The monthly/allowances of Stoma Appliance Scheme listed products are set by the Department in consultation with the recommendations of the Stoma Products Assessment Panel.

Please see our SAS Product Allowance Guide for information about Stoma Appliance Scheme product allowances.

B. Some respondents reported problems with Australia Post Service Delivery

Respondent feedback will be provided to Australia Post for their information.

C. Some respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with postage, packaging and handling costs of SAS product orders

SAS orders are free to collect from our rooms during our business hours. Where a SAS participant is unable to collect their parcel in person, QSA can arrange for the order to be posted to an address within Australia via the Australia Post eparcel service. We charge a postage, packaging and handling fee to cover the cost’s incurred by QSA for this service.

If a member is not happy to pay our postage, packaging and handling fee or prefers not to use eParcel, they can arrange their own courier collection (at their expense) from QSA during our business hours

D. Some respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with our order dispatch timeframes

Currently, there are over 4,000 individual products listed on the Stoma Appliance Scheme schedule. While QSA does hold a range of commonly used products in store and can provide appliances to cover any stoma in an emergency, we quite simply do not have sufficient room in our warehouse to hold every item. Therefore, most SAS listed products are required to be ordered from our Melbourne based suppliers on demand.

For a full explanation of the end-to-end SAS order process, please see our explanation of The Stoma Appliance Scheme Ordering Process on our website.

E. Some respondents expressed a desire to be able to order in larger quantities less frequently.

The Australian Government’s subsidised Stoma Appliance Scheme is administered by the Department of Health and Aged Care.  The Department have established guidelines that explain the practices and procedures that must be followed by participating stoma associations in the provision of stoma-related products to their members.  The SAS guidelines determine:

  • Who is eligible to participate in the Australia Stoma Appliance Scheme (SAS),
  • What products can be supplied through the SAS, and
  • How much product can be supplied through the SAS, and how often.

Under Stoma Appliance Scheme guideline 7.2.4, “a two-month ordering cycle is available to members who have had their stoma for six months or longer. However, the ordering cycle will be suspended for members during any period when the stoma-related products they order are subject to change or review”.

A copy of the Stoma Appliance Scheme Operational Guidelines can be found on the Department of Health and Aged Care website

F. Some respondents requested that QSA implement automatic monthly order generation

The Australian Government’s subsidised Stoma Appliance Scheme is administered by the Department of Health and Aged Care.  The Department have established guidelines that explain the practices and procedures that must be followed by participating stoma associations in the provision of stoma-related products to their members.

Under these guidelines Australian Stoma Associations are required to retain supporting evidence of all claims made for reimbursement through the Stoma Appliance Scheme for a minimum of two years, and present such evidence to Services Australia upon request. Evidence required to be retained includes proof that a member has actually requested the supply. QSA is therefore unable to process an order for SAS products without a specific request.