Patient Satisfaction Leads to Practice Growth
Similar in fashion to online shopping, a growing number of patients are doing their research on physicians before they decide which one will treat them. Who has the best rating? Did they provide a good experience? Do they listen to their patients?
The $15 co-pay days are all but gone, having been replaced with high deductibles. Patients are not only seeking, but expecting high quality care and the ultimate patient experience while paying full price on the way to hitting their deductible. It is this “patient experience” that they tell their friends about, discuss with colleagues at the water cooler and write about online.
Practices can no longer ignore the voice of the patient. Patient experience is vital in today’s healthcare environment, and therefore, it’s vital that practices measure their engagement to maintain loyal patients and gain new ones. But, as you know, the patient experience is not solely dependent on the physician. The entire office plays a role in providing exemplary service, maintaining loyal patients and gathering new ones.
A healthcare practice is a business, and must be managed like one.
Achieving high patient satisfaction
A healthcare practice is a business, and must be managed like one. This means that customer satisfaction must be achieved, and more often exceeded, to stand out against the competition. So, how does a practice achieve a high level of patient satisfaction?
Begin by understanding the practice in its entirety. Identify quality gaps and avenues of opportunity, as well as the areas of excellence. Utilize a survey tool that will help you gain actionable insights into the areas requiring improvement. A patient can love their provider and still feel as though they’re a nuisance to everyone else in the office. No one wants to be treated as though they’re unwelcome. That kind of behavior is a sure-fire way to discourage a patient from returning to your office.
Looking to Zappos for an example
When I think of complete customer satisfaction, the online shoe store, Zappos, comes to mind. There are thousands of online stores to choose from when purchasing a new pair of shoes, so why are customers so loyal to Zappos?
The answer is really quite simple, Zappos’ customers like how they’re treated. Zappos consistently provides unparalleled customer satisfaction. Their focus is always on the customer and they continuously work at achieving the highest standard in every aspect of their customer interactions.
In short, Zappos wants to provide their customers with unparalleled customer satisfaction, and they do just that. What can you do to approach business the same way? Don’t you want your practice to be known for its unparalleled customer satisfaction too?
About Author
Jessica Ritter
Jessica Ritter is the VP of Sales at SE Healthcare, with over 14 years of experience in medical sales and business development. Most recently, she served as VP of Strategic Development for a prominent health and wellness consulting company formulated to help organizations improve their health and productivity. In this role, she created relationships with potential broker partners and collaborated with executive leadership to evaluate the strategic fit of potential clients.