Does Your Organization Have A Terrible Patient Experience Reputation?

Does Your Organization Have A Terrible Patient Experience Reputation?

“Patient experience” refers to a patient’s interactions with healthcare support staff and Medical Providers.

If you are part of a healthcare organization leadership team and know that your patient experience should be better, then this blog is intended for you. If negative patient experiences are the reputation in your community, then I hope you’ll invest a few minutes and read on.

Most people I know in healthcare management feel that delivering a good patient experience is essential. Yet somehow, time passes with other management priorities taking precedence over finding solutions that truly address and fix the root cause. Time ticks by and you never quite realize your long-term business goals and don’t realize that by providing outstanding patient care, the other things will take care of themselves.

BENEFITS OF PATIENT EXPERIENCE IMPROVEMENT

• It Provides Better Outcomes for Patients
  • The patient will feel more comfortable sharing their problems and expressing their advice if you ensure that confidential communication channels are accessible between the care team and the patient. Patients can feel more confident about their treatment plan, which motivates them to become more involved in their care. Higher patient compliance increases the probability of a successful outcome.

• A Decline in the Rate of Employee Turnover
  • When you have a low turnover rate, recruiting new team members will be easier. This happens when employees are happy and feel they work for an organization with a good reputation.

• Assures Happier and Healthier Aspects for Team Members
  • Most patients will notice that the nurse tried to improve their stay a little bit, and they will let the nurse know how much they appreciate it. Patients who are satisfied with their care can make nurses feel better about their work, which will lower stress levels and lessen the likelihood of burnout.

Retention Equals Profitability

According to a 2018 Press Ganey analysis, patients are five times more likely to choose a practice where they had a great experience than one with a significant consumer marketing presence.

Separately, Accenture research found that hospitals with superior patient experience ratings typically have profit margins that are 50% higher than normal hospitals. Similarly, other findings were made by a 2016 Deloitte study which discovered that hospitals with high HCAHPS scores had an average net margin of 4.7%. Hospitals with low rankings had margins that were only 1.8% on average.

Patients with the best relationships with their Medical Providers are three times more likely to remain with you than unsatisfied patients.

FOLLOWING THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE

It starts with your team members interacting with the patients before they arrive for their appointment. Often phone, live chat or text exchanges are the first impressions.

The next stop is the on-site front-line staff who greets and checks in the patient for their appointment.

Next, the patient sees the Medical Providers and their support staff, which includes positions as Nurses, Diagnostic Technicians, Medical Assistants, and others.

Finally comes the follow-up activities, such as interactions with your pharmacy, billing department and other departments within the organization.

All these intertwining human interactions cause the patient to develop an overall impression that will stick with them. Recurring patients will live whatever the experience is repeatedly. Imagine if the experience is stellar! Then envision if it’s not!

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Proper staff recruiting, orientation, training, ongoing coaching, effective reporting, and accountability are critical for your success.

A substandard patient experience will have irreparable consequences for your organization.

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About the Author: Jeff Russell is the CEO of Cornerstone Business Solutions and Cornerstone Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). He has 30 years of outsourcing management and consulting experience with a healthcare focus