Increasing Patient Satisfaction through Patient Experience

In the healthcare space, increasing patient satisfaction is most often always a priority. With good reason - patient satisfaction has an impact on word-of-mouth advertising, reimbursements, online reputation, patient retention and many other factors that ultimately affect the bottom line. Because of this, analyzing patient satisfaction is often a key component when any health system attempts to set new goals, reevaluate the mission or even when discussing new marketing strategies. No matter the reason, once it has been decided to improve patient satisfaction, it is time to develop a strategy. 

Affect vs. Effect

The price of care, the quality of care and many other factors can have an affect on patient satisfaction. However, creating a positive patient experience is the biggest key to a successful strategy to improve patient satisfaction. Because in the end, patient satisfaction is really just the product of the patient experience. The patient experience is our verb, our action. It is what affects our patients, and patient satisfaction is the result of that action, or the effect that the patient experience has on the patients. So, the best way to improve patient satisfaction is to focus on the patient experience. 

From Start to Finish

Creating a positive patient experience starts the minute a patient walks through the door. The cleanliness and atmosphere as they walk in does impact their experience. In most places today, facilities are clean and the waiting areas are usually comfortable, but sometimes a little outdated. How often are they welcomed though? How many times does a patient walk in and no one acknowledges them? No eye contact or words, as if it didn’t matter if they were there or not. This doesn’t mean that there needs to be somebody stationed at the door welcoming patients, giving them directions or treats.  Although, that would probably leave an impression, and is a big part of why some businesses do exactly that. But just being acknowledged goes a long way.

Having a great patient experience also means being proactive vs. reactive. It isn’t just about responding to the patient. If a patient looks lost, approaching them and making sure they are okay or to see if they need directions. Or if a patient has had to wait a long time to get called back, approach them and let them know what is happening before they have to ask. A great patient experience means employees need to actively be looking for opportunities along the way. 

This doesn’t just mean being proactive with patients, but with co-workers too. It is important to communicate from front to back. Believe it or not, patients who are handed off from person to person don’t usually like having to repeat the same thing over and over. When the staff is able to effectively communicate information to one another, the patient will feel like the people there actually care about them and not just moving them on to the next person in line. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to continually be looking for opportunities along the way. Especially when it is busy, short staffed or for any other reason. One of the places this can become the most apparent is at checkout. It is easy to rush patients out, miss paperwork or other communication. Make sure the patients know they are appreciated for coming and that their business and health is important to the health system. Especially as they are leaving it is important to finish strong. 

On the Same Page

Successfully executing a strategy for creating a positive patient experience means having everyone on the same page. If only a few people are looking for opportunities and being mindful of the patient experience, it isn’t going to be enough. In fact, having one or two great staff members who really care about the patient can actually cause that patient to notice how the rest of the staff doesn’t seem to care about them as much. So whatever strategies, goals, training or anything else that your health system decides to pursue, having everyone on board is essential to it being a success.  

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Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work!

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