Regardless of the industry, clients want to feel appreciated. In the healthcare sector, your patients are those clients. That said, patients want to feel more special than clients in other industries. That is because here we are dealing with something unique to them; their health. It is always good to remember when dealing with
patients- both offline and online, the level of customer service determines whether or not you are going to retain them.
Here are 5 Ways of Improving Your Patient Experience
Make sure that Your Patients can easily reach you
Whether it is emails, social media messages, answering phone calls, it is crucial to appoint someone to respond to patient’s queries promptly. Aim to respond to all questions raised by the end of the business day. The truth is that patients want prompt answers to their queries because such responses are important to
their health. The same applies to social media texts, emails and voicemails. Patients will always choose you as their healthcare provider if they can easily reach you. Let patients know when they expect to hear from you responding to their e-mail and voicemails.
Focus on the Patient’s Interests
It is crucial to know the type of procedures or areas of treatment your client is interested in. For instance, if the patients want to know how to deal with fine lines, then ensure that your practice offers laser therapy treatment. If patients know that you provide services that interest them, then they will flock your office regularly. This will make your patients happy and feel special at the same time.
Make the Patient Feel Appreciated and Comfortable
Take your correspondence a notch higher by getting the patient feel special and comfortable. Don’t just provide information, act! Show your patient how much you care about their condition. Patients want to feel that doctors are equally concerned about their health as they are. Let them understand that you appreciate how they have chosen your facility to take care of their health. After all, patients are the key drivers of your practice.
Recognize Milestones
Tracking each milestone is a simple way of making your patients feel appreciated. Reminding patients about their birthdays can work magic. When a new month starts, you can send special offers to patients whose birthdays fall within that month. You can also maintain a record bearing the ages of your patients, and start sending them health tips when they attain certain milestones (like 40,60, and 80 respectively).
Don’t Overwhelm
While it is crucial to keep communication to your patients flowing, but don’t try to overburden with unnecessary information. It essential that you know your patient’s wants and needs to avoid over-sharing information with them. Make sure that you don’t post on your social network pages every hour. Think about how you perceive that company that clogs up your Facebook page or your inbox. Your patients are bound
to feel likewise if you do that.
There are several ways of improving your patient experience and retaining them for a long time. Like in any other industry, customer service is critical in the healthcare sector. A health practitioner must ensure that the patient feels appreciated and special. Patients can easily become dissatisfied if you don’t show concern
to them. Such clients can wreak havoc in your facility. Some factors that lead to patient dissatisfaction include waiting time in consultation rooms, tests, and promptness for responding to calls.
How to deal with Patient’s Dissatisfaction
According to a recent survey conducted on several clinics around the United States, here are simple tips that can help prevent patient’s dissatisfaction:
Set Expectations
Almost 80% of the respondents said that they would have no problem if they knew about the wait time in advance. Although clients don’t like waiting, setting such expectations in advance helps. Give a fair estimate to avoid problems.
Apologize
Apologizing for keeping patients waiting for long shows that you respect their patience and time. 85% of the clients interviewed said a simple apology would alleviate their dissatisfaction
Provide Options
If you know that you are going to keep patients waiting for long, why not give them alternatives to solve their inconveniences. They will trust you more for respecting their time and may come back to you again.
This article has provided crucial information that will help healthcare providers to improve service offerings to their patients.
