How to Improve the Patient Experience?

In the clinic, the goal of your teams is to provide the best possible patient experience to ensure good health and complete satisfaction for your patient. To achieve this, several strategies can be put forward by your clinic. However, it can be complex to exceed your patients’ expectations.  

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According to a study conducted by Avtex, 68% of patients believe that clinical staff should have better follow-up and interactions with their patients. In addition, according to Silverline, 82% of patients say that  quality service is a decisive factor when they seek a clinic to meet their expectations. With this in mind, how can you improve the patient experience in your clinic? Find out the answer in this article!

What is the patient experience?

The patient experience: what are we talking about?

By definition, the patient experience is the set of emotions, perceptions, feelings and situations experienced by a patient as part of a care journey, that is, before, during and after the assignment of care. This particular concept differs from the customer experience, where the customer chooses to visit a store to fill a personal need.

In this sense, the patient experience is more defined by the treatments received as well as the different interactions with the medical staff. These situations experienced during treatment lead to emotions and feelings that will impact her satisfaction in a clinic. That’s why it’s important to be empathetic, transparent and sensitive to ensure the satisfaction and retention of your patients in the clinic!

How to improve the patient experience?

Now that you know what the patient experience is, it’s time to improve it. However, the patient experience is a delicate and multifaceted subject. After all, all humans are different: therefore, each treatment must be completely personalized according to the patient’s needs.

How can you optimize your patient experience? To enlighten you, here are seven best practices to follow in order to offer your patient the experience they deserve.

1. Train existing staff on the importance of good service in a care setting

It is crucial that you have a team that shares your values and vision so that it reflects the organizational culture of your clinic. Therefore, it is important to educate your staff about the importance of good service in a care setting.

According to the study conducted by Mazars, 96% of professionals are ready to invest in improving the patient experience. With this in mind, engage motivated and high-performing talent, and then explain to them how quality service and empathetic interactions are necessary for the proper treatment of your patient. By describing the sometimes stressful context and patient perception, your employees will be able to better identify issues related to patient satisfaction. This is a necessary asset to build better relationships with your patients while providing a better clinical experience!

2. Gather feedback from your patients throughout the lived experience

In order to offer your patient an exceptional experience, you must first know their needs and expectations in relation to your clinic. What better way to do this than to send them regular patient experience surveys?

With a software like InputKit, rely on our many patient survey templates to assess the different areas of the patient experience. Professionalism of the staff, transparency of the employees, follow-up of the secretary following an appointment, adequate personalization of a current treatment, and more: assess what you care about to keep an eye on the quality of your clinic’s treatments. 

Then schedule your patient experience surveys to be sent automatically at the optimal time, one to two hours after a clinic appointment. With an average response rate of 45% per email and 57% per text message (SMS), you’ll be sure to get plenty of feedback, no matter what method you choose. Feedback from these surveys will not only save you valuable management time, but also improve the continuous patient experience based on your patient’s concrete needs. This is a must in order to ensure the satisfaction of your patients!

3. Create a positive patient experience to maximize patient retention and safety in the clinic

In a world where the patient experience is constantly changing, it is important to know how to stand out from the competition. To position yourself as the best clinic, you must offer to your patients a positive patient experience that is completely tailored to their needs.

To achieve this, why not attend training in your area of expertise? Study the latest trends in your industry to learn more about what you’re passionate about. This will allow you to reconnect with certain concepts that you are less familiar with. Such training is ideal to learn more about preventive safety measures or to apply during treatments in order to obtain better clinical results!

To improve the patient experience continuously, listening to your patients’ feedback is also an essential practice. Rely on their feedback and suggestions for improvement to improve the clinical experience. 

According to the Anhang Price study, better preventive measures and active listening to client recommendations have been shown to lead to better clinical outcomes, better patient safety and a positive care experience. With this in mind, always rely on customer feedback and keep up-to-date in your field to create a positive and safe experience for your patients.

4. Vulgarizing some less comprehensible concepts

Imagine going to the dentist to do your dental exam. While you are being tested multiple times, your dentist explains that you will have to come back for new treatments. However, when you try to find out about the seriousness of the situation, the condition he says you have doesn’t ring a bell. Unwilling to remain misinformed, you insist that he describe in detail the symptoms according to this condition, its cause, as well as future treatments. However, your dentist uses dental jargon that you do not understand. As he finishes his speech, you are only thinking about upcoming dental expenses, other appointments to be scheduled, and worst-case scenarios. 

In order to avoid such a situation, make sure to put your patients in confidence. It is particularly important to ensure their understanding of upcoming procedures and treatments. With this in mind, take the time to vulgarize some concepts when explaining their condition, symptoms, or even the future stages of their treatment. Such transparency will help you build a relationship of trust with your patient!

5. Remain available following the treatment if needed

Of course, your patients’ treatments are not limited to services assigned within your clinic. Thus, a good patient experience is also defined by a professional staff and available in case of need.

According to BestDoc’s study, 70% of patients appreciate that clinics that does a follow-up after an appointment. In that sense, make sure your secretaries are available to respond in case of an emergency. Inform them of your patients’ treatments and send automated emails to your patient to ensure their health. Why not equip yourself with a high-performance CRM to facilitate file tracking for your staff? This will save you many hours of management, in addition to supporting your patient in a more personal way. This is a great way to improve the patient experience!

6. Have a clear and seamless management process

Your patient turns to you because you are an expert in your field. It is therefore very important to inform them about the nature of the treatments offered. After all, it is normal to fear the unknown: what better way to clarify your processes to reassure your most nervous patients before an appointment?

In your waiting room, set up screens with informative videos to better vulgarize certain concepts related to health, the human body, products recommended by your professionals or treatments assigned by your clinic. To help your patients wait, you could even offer them a wide selection of informative books and magazines on your clinic’s area of expertise! 

In the same vein, in your operating rooms, fill your walls with explanatory posters to explain to your patients the nature of your treatments. This will help your patients better understand what your procedures are and will give them confidence before they are treated by your professionals. 

Remember, your patients turn to you because they rely on your expertise. In this sense, take the time to explain in simplified terms the treatments and procedures to come. This will allow you to improve your patient experience while building relationships based on trust and honesty!

7. Listen closely to your patients

As mentioned above, every human being has different expectations and needs. In this sense, to ensure high-quality treatments within your clinic, you need to know how to listen to your patient’s comments. 

Following an appointment, follow-up with your patient. Ask them if the treatments they receive are appropriate to their needs, if the employee seems qualified for their role, and if their condition seems to improve over time. At a future visit, make sure your patient is following the recommended treatments and ensuring their recovery. In case of sudden pain, intolerance to a prescription or discomfort with a member of your clinic, be sure to immediately apply the changes to be made. Such patient monitoring will certainly benefit your patient experience!

Plan my InputKit demo to improve my patient experience

To improve the patient experience at your clinic, educate your staff about the importance of patient satisfaction. Encourage them to listen closely to your patients’ needs and to vulgarize certain concepts to reassure your patients. A quality experience will optimize the loyalty of your patient, in addition to giving them an increased sense of security!

In short, what are we talking about when we talk about the patient experience?  This is a fully personalized service according to the specific needs of your patient. After a clinic visit, send a personalized automated patient experience survey so you can continuously improve the quality of your treatments. Then, inform your patients of the management processes to reassure them about the next procedures. Finally, remain available after treatment if needed. Such monitoring of patient satisfaction will certainly ensure the success of your clinic!

Now that you know how to improve the patient experience, do you need a solution to reap better customer feedback while motivating your employees? If this is the case, we invite you to schedule a free and personalized InputKit demo at the time of your choice. Our team of experts will be happy to advise you to ensure the complete satisfaction of your patient.

Finally, we leave you with an interesting video about how to improve your patient experience. Enjoy!