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5 Key Strategies To Improve the Patient Experience

By Ernest Hamilton | Update Date: Feb 24, 2021 03:43 PM EST
5 Key Strategies To Improve the Patient Experience

(Photo : 5 Key Strategies To Improve the Patient Experience)

The patient experience describes the sum of interactions patients have with the healthcare system. It also includes how patients perceive these interactions. It is an essential factor, as patients are at the heart of most things in the healthcare industry.

Naturally, improving the patient experience of your customers should be one of your priorities. After all, they are the ones who are paying for the treatments. Nonetheless, with new strategies being developed for better patient communication and engagement, it can be challenging to choose the right ones.

In this article, we focus on five key strategies that can help you improve the patient experience. If you wish to be more consumer-focused, read on.

Put Patient Journey in the Heart of Your Marketing Strategy

Modern healthcare centers have to focus on better engagement and communication with patients. They also have to involve them more in the decision-making process regarding their treatment.

This is why going patient-focused is crucial. Patient journey maps are an excellent way to analyze and understand the customer experience, as well as identify the various touchpoints that need to be improved.

Once a clear picture of the patient journey has been built, you can start implementing some new digital solutions. These include specific software (such as dental practice management software) as well as:

  • Chatbots and AI assistants. This is a modern approach and a great way to communicate with patients in a more personalized manner. Other than improving the patient experience, it allows you to address their questions 24/7. This can be particularly important when the office or healthcare facility is closed for some reason.

  • Mobile apps. Providing mobile applications for patients can help improve their overall user experience, as well as ensure they don't lose track of their appointments and other valuable information related to the treatment, such as doctor's suggestions or next therapies and screenings. If possible, take advantage of push notifications and SMS messages to keep patients up-to-date about important events and developments during the treatment process. Integrate your mobile application with your existing CRM solution to keep track of patient details from one system, including demographic info and insurance details (if applicable). This will help you better understand your target group, which will prove invaluable during your marketing activities later on.

Listening to Patients' Voices

If you want to know what your patients are thinking, the most straightforward way is to listen to them. Thankfully, there are various ways by which you can engage with them. For example, you can create a survey and distribute it to each of your patients. This will help them understand their needs and expectations, the changes they would like to see, or any other issues that they think need changing. 

Remember that by listening to patients' voices, you can better anticipate their needs and improve their experience within your business.

Use Better Communication Methods

In previous years, the best way of communicating with patients was through print media. Those included pamphlets, articles in magazines, and in-house publications like newsletters. However, in today's digital era, companies are taking another route when it comes to communication with their customers.

Nowadays, healthcare businesses focus on creating an online presence for their brand and activities - preferably in the form of a website or social media profile. With this, they will have the opportunity to share information quickly between customers, even to people who may not have been updated on recent events or new offerings that the firm has made available. 

Create a Customer Experience Department

A customer experience department should be a part of every healthcare institution, especially when it comes to handling certain issues. In case your customers are unhappy with the healthcare products you have provided, they can easily express their problems and communicate with you. As such, it is important for your firm to work with the customer service team to provide a personalized solution that will cater to their needs.

Be Proactive in Addressing Patient Concerns and Issues

No matter how many strategies you apply to improve the patient experience, if you ignore issues affecting your customers, everything will still fall short. For this reason, you need to take proactive steps in addressing concerns that may arise from administrative issues or problems that may occur during patient interactions with your staff or organization. 

After all, being proactive in identifying these concerns and acting on them promptly can be one of the best ways you can improve the patient experience at your healthcare facility.

The Bottom Line

While the strategies mentioned above are all very effective ways to improve the patient experience at your healthcare institution, continuing to improve these is also essential. Improvement is not meant to be done at once and then stopped. Instead, it should be continuous so that you can find more and more ways to make your patient engagement higher and therefore gain better results from your efforts. 

We hope that after reading this article, you have a better understanding of what strategies you can use to improve your patients' experience and ensure them that choosing your business was a decision they won't regret. Good luck. 

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* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of counselheal.com

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