Ensuring the quality of interactions with your patients will improve the overall quality of healthcare. It’s important to create ways to establish a long-lasting relationship with your patients and eventually enhance your organization’s profitability. Here are some practical ways to make sure your patients stay contented with your services:
Adopt Innovative Technology
Technological innovations in healthcare help revolutionize the patient experience by improving patient flow and reducing wait times. Suppose you practice family medicine that involves a wide range of annual health evaluations, therapeutic and monitoring technology, and diagnostic tests. In that case, you should invest in seamless management software for family practice to streamline your processes and provide excellent service to your patients.
These advancements also ease the frustration of patients through the implementation of convenient registration kiosks, waiting room technology, and patient room devices. These are all essential to maintain high-quality patient experiences and reduce the number of unsatisfactory results.
Since today’s consumers are used to quick access to information, you can create a digital experience by launching a mobile-friendly website, efficient patient portal, and a strong online search presence. A responsive website will give them a smooth browsing experience on their digital devices, and a robust patient portal will make accessing health records and changing appointments easier.
Also, having a strong online search presence will make it easier for your potential patients to find your services. Since most online searches are health-related, investing in paid search ads and creating relevant content will keep your website stay on top searches.
Improve Employee Engagement
When your employees are happy with the training and recognition they receive at work, they can deliver top-notch patient satisfaction. Making them constantly engaged and letting them know that their work is valued will drive a good employee experience, which will lead to an excellent patient experience. Here are some ways to improve employee engagement in your organization:
- Provide Development Opportunities: Investing in your employees’ development by creating educational opportunities will show that you value them and want to improve their skills to succeed in their careers. This will not only keep their skills up-to-date but also improve their morale and engagement levels that will be evident in how they provide good service to the patients.
- Recognize Their Achievements: Rewards and recognition can help improve employee morale by showing them that their contributions are appreciated and essential. When there’s a public acknowledgment of their achievements, it’s not only a way of thanking them, but it also highlights your organization’s values and goals to the entire workforce.
- Improve Internal Communication: When there’s streamlined internal communication in the workplace, employees become more engaged because communication is important for disseminating critical information, providing directions, and making employees understand the company’s goals. Lack of proper communication will hinder them from being productive and eventually affect how they care for their patients.
Obtain Patient Feedback and Take Necessary Actions
Ensure patient satisfaction by gathering your patients’ feedback to know how they feel about your services. These patient satisfaction surveys are opportunities to improve patient workflow and ensure that they have excellent service every time. Here are some effective ways to collect patient feedback:
- Email and SMS Surveys for Outpatients: A patient encounters various experiences before, during, and after their appointments, such as staff efficiency, their perception of the treatment, and their experience with the doctor. Having post-appointment feedback will allow them to share their experience that serves as an opportunity to retain or improve your services.
- Kiosk-based Feedback: Kiosks are a great way to have quick and actionable feedback because you can place multiple survey touchpoints around the facility. For instance, you can have mobiles or tablets near the visitor’s lounge or pharmacy to make it easier for the patients to share their opinions or any requests that they want to bring up. They’re also easier to implement as they are cloud-based and require little maintenance.
Keep Patients Constantly Updated
It’s important to always keep your patients informed, especially regarding their appointments. Use a health CRM system to have an efficient and automated process such as instant notifications when the doctor changes the schedule. Remember that efficient patient scheduling can improve patient satisfaction and increase your profitability.
You can also send broadcast messages in case you need to cancel or reschedule appointments. This will alert your patients of any delays and save your staff many hours of phone calls to each patient. It also helps to practice prioritization of patient schedules according to the required time, the level of care, and other crucial factors. Doing so ensures each of them receives the level of care they need.
Excellent patient experience not only comes from patient-doctor interaction but is also influenced by all factors within a health system. It’s a prime indicator of your organization’s overall health, so it’s important to consistently improve the patient experience by following the above-mentioned best practices.