National surveys of NHS patients in the UK have captured patient satisfaction with healthcare services for more than 15 years. Although this data has been valuable in tracking trends over time and for comparison between healthcare services, there have been issues associated with the concept of ‘satisfaction’ and the lack of clarity regarding the purpose of collecting such data. The shift in focus to capturing patient experience rather than patient satisfaction is regarded as a positive change, particularly for the purpose of improving healthcare services and patient care. This article defines patient experience and describes the various ways that this data can be collected, in particular using qualitative approaches.