When patients are unhappy with their healthcare, they might not return or tell others to go there. This can harm the business and hurt patients’ health in the long run.
Improving how patients feel is about more than just giving great medical care. It means the hospital staff should care for everything, like making patients comfortable, helping them understand what is happening, and caring for their feelings.
10 Ways to Improve Patient Experience
Patient experience matters a lot to improve the brand identity and healthcare revenue. You can improve the patient experience by providing better billing experiences by partnering with medical billing services, as professionals in medical billing industries are more likely to help the patient charge reasonably for the services rendered. Also, they ensure patients do not get surprised bills as they have a keen eye over undercoating or upcoding, etc.
The first thing to do for better care is to think about patients. Hospitals and clinics can use these easy ideas to make patients feel better.
Reduce wait times
Patients often have to wait a long time, which is a problem. To make patients happier, we need rules to avoid booking too many appointments. But if charges are late, tell patients what is happening. It is better to say there’s a 15-minute delay because of an emergency than to keep patients wandering.
Maintain cleanliness
Germs like bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other harmful bugs can give you infections at the hospital. To stop this, clean your hands and keep everything clean, from the waiting room to the doctor’s office.
Make sure you provide a comfortable area for the visitors.
Loud sounds and hard seats can bother anxious patients. To help them feel better, we should eliminate noisy things and give them comfy chairs, charging spots, and snacks.
Reduce paperwork
To make things easier for patients, keep them from repeating information. If they already sent their papers online, let them check them in the system instead of doing lots of forms in the waiting room.
After you greet the patient, ask for their insurance card. Could you give them a clipboard and a pen? Explain what they should write on the form. Tell them you’re there to assist if they have questions.
Once the patient finishes the paperwork:
- Show them where the magazines are.
- Share any exciting articles from the magazines.
- Tell them who the doctor they’ll see is.
Patients should be part of their care
Going to the doctor can be scary for some people. Doctors, healthcare providers, and primary care clinics can help by explaining what will happen during the visit. When patients get clear instructions and know their care team, they feel safer and happier.
Request Feedback
Ask if the patient gets it. After the visit, check if they are okay with the treatment plan. Ask if they have any worries or questions. Make sure they know how to use the medicines to stay safe.
Show Empathy
Show you care and understand the patient’s feelings. When making decisions about their care, recognize their emotions and let them know you understand. Patients are more likely to accept your suggestions when they feel they’re getting caring, patient-focused care.
Promotes employee Engagement
When your employees are engaged, patients are safer and happier. To make the patient experience better, use the right tools and have employees who know how to use them. Engage employees by improving the facility, getting new equipment and resources, and providing more training.
Look at the whole system
Safety problems usually happen because of issues in the system, not because of one person’s fault. Instead of blaming individuals, encourage your staff to report any times when patients are harmed. This will help the leadership team quickly fix things and make outcomes better.
Did you wash your hands and clean your stethoscope in front of the patient? Or did you do it when they couldn’t see? This really matters to patients, especially if they can hear a sick person in the next room coughing loudly.
Do you have a part of the waiting room just for sick people? Or did a patient have to sit next to someone with the flu for 20 minutes while waiting for their yearly check-up?
Is your exam room super clean? Or is there a dusty spot in the corner that says, “This room hasn’t been cleaned in a really long time”?
As a health expert, you know that good hygiene is very important for your patients. Look at your office from a patient’s point of view and be sure you’re showing real care for their health by keeping things clean and safe.
Use new technology
Technology is changing how patients are treated. Having one electronic system for staff to communicate makes care delivery smoother. Systems that combine incident reporting with electronic health records (EHR) save time and avoid using paper forms. Also, patients can give feedback using QR codes, and staff will know immediately to follow up before the patient leaves.
Conclusion
When patients have good experiences, their health gets better. To make your healthcare organization reach more people and make patients feel safe and happy, you can use simple strategies.
