5 Creative Ways to Increase Patient Satisfaction

What counts as a positive patient experience? One study revealed that half of patients expect customer service treatment comparable to that in retail. They look forward to a comfortable environment where they feel understood and have an overall positive experience with the medical team and support and administrative members.

From researching your clinic, scheduling an appointment, arrival and wait time, to their post-visit experience — it's important to improve every step of the patient journey. Here are the top creative ways to increase patient satisfaction in your practice.

How to improve patient satisfaction in your medical practice

Some of the main hindrances to patient satisfaction include:

• Poor communication and experience with office and administrative staff
• Feeling, and being treated like a number rather than a person
• Scheduling difficulties, including wait times and booking methods
  
  

Your strategies to improve patient satisfaction should revolve around solving these problem areas. Some of the actionable tips we recommend are:

1. Building a helpful digital presence

Most businesses have gone digital because that's what most patients find convenient. Create an engaging, informative website that offers clear, consistent information, high-quality photographs, and testimonials. 

2. Simplifying the processes

Make it easier for your patients. Consider investing in an optimized and well-managed appointment scheduling system, automated reminders via text messaging or email, and digital registration forms and other paperwork. Simplifying these processes helps cut down wait times and avoids rushing and forgotten appointments.

3. Personalizing your care

In a healthcare setting, patients are the priority — so it should feel like it. Practitioners and support staff should create a welcoming, comfortable environment, especially for restless patients. It can be as simple as maintaining eye contact when talking or being more enthusiastic and engaging when asking questions. 

4. Following up appointments with surveys

The best time to get feedback is shortly after their appointment, within 48 hours. Avoid asking open-ended questions in your survey. For example, instead of, "What are your thoughts on the wait time?" you can use "Was the wait time reasonable?" Yes or no questions or multiple choices provide you with data you can easily analyze. 

5. Measuring your current performance

Speaking of data, measuring performance indicators offers valuable insight and can help you perceive what your patient's journey looks like. These include:

• patient retention rates
• new patient repeat bookings
• average patient wait times
• patient feedback, including complaints

Collecting data is relatively easy. What is hard is doing something with it. You may want to enlist the help of professionals that can provide operations and consulting support on the proper steps to take based on your data and monitor your performance.

The importance of creating an exceptional patient experience

One of the top priorities medical practices should focus on is to create an action plan to improve patient satisfaction. When patients feel understood and empowered, they're more willing to place their well-being in your hands. This trust is paramount in any medical setting — it's the way to increase your patient referrals and for patients to keep coming back to your clinic. 

Helping you with creative ways to increase patient satisfaction & experience

You're the best at what you do in your medical practice — and we are, too, in providing targeted support to facilities like yours. At MD Logica, we offer a range of services to help scale your medical aesthetics business and improve your bottom line. Contact us today to get started.