Improving the Patient’s Experience: Start Where the Patient Starts
by Marty Hudson

Improving the patient’s experience starts where the patient starts. This usually begins with the patient placing a telephone call to, or walking into, the physician’s office. This ‘first point of contact’ sets the stage, and possibly the expectation, for the entire patient experience. To improve the patient experience we must first improve the care and compassion for the patient, beginning with the ‘first point of contact.’

A high percentage of patients enter the clinic feeling poorly. The last thing they want is to be treated with a poor, unfriendly attitude. Greeting them with true care and compassion will maximize the patient’s experience, creating patient loyalty to the organization and their physician.

It all begins with how the employee is treated. Treat the employee right and they will treat the patient right. When you show care and compassion for the staff, they will care for the patient.

“Employees come first; and if employees are treated right, they treat the outside world right…” “We tell our people, ‘Don't worry about profit. Think about customer service.’ Profit is a by-product of customer service. It’s not an end in and of itself.”
    – Herb Kelleher; Co-Founder, Chairman and former CEO of Southwest Airlines.

Care for People
If your organization’s staff knows they are cared for, they will care for those around them. This includes their peers, as well as the patients they serve. A few things to remember, and to put into action, that will allow you to exhibit a caring attitude.

People make mistakes. Use them as opportunities for growth, not guilt. It’s not the mistake that defines our character, but what we do after the mistake has been made.

Forgive bad behavior, but expect improvement. Attempt to understand what may have created such behavior. Try to “Put yourself in their shoes” before taking appropriate action.

Be an encourager, take responsibility for team members having some fun, give credit where credit is due, and make everyone feel a part of the team.

Respond to Needs
Let your organization’s staff know that you want to satisfy their needs. When their needs are met, they will be quick to meet the needs of those they serve. However, responding to needs does not mean to give them everything they want. Do not have as a goal “to please everyone”; it’s a set-up for failure. Sometimes the response to a need is a clear explanation as to why the answer is “no.”

Be approachable, it’s good for your team, and it’s good for you. Be a good listener. Be fair. Be caring and constructive in your criticisms. Express concern and show sympathy when a person is carrying a burden.

Don’t flaunt your authority; you lessen its influence when you do. The best leaders are servants. Relationships drive success; maintain healthy ones.

Do What is Right
Do the right thing, it may not always be easy, but it is always right. Lead with integrity and ethics. Lead by example. Everyone will always know where you stand. They will understand expectations and consequences. Consistency in leadership communicates the leader’s level of compassion.

Be an enthusiastic leader. It’s contagious. Keep your team informed and always keep reality defined. Give your team members the credit they deserve.

Praise in public, condemn in private. Never carry grudges, or obsess on injustices, and don’t allow team members to do so either. Bitterness cannot be hidden and propagates bad morale, which propagates poor customer service.

Develop a Patient Experience Improvement Initiative
Develop a strategy around improving the patient’s experience. Have the team members help create the plan. This will create buy-in from the entire organization. Support from the top-down, create buy-in from the bottom-up. It’s a formula for success.

Think outside the “old” box. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Don’t be afraid to change your strategy if warranted. Always keep your head and your heart in the right place; it’s the best way to ensure integrity.

Once a plan is developed and implemented, monitoring and measuring the patient’s experience will assist your organization in maximizing patient retention and loyalty. Understanding the patient’s expectation is key to improving your organization’s customer service.

MedicalGPS has the resources to help your organization find the cure for common customer service. Please feel free to review our extensive set of analysis tools contained in, “The Patient Flow Solution”, MedicalGPS’ proprietary process improvement program designed especially for physician practice organizations.

MedicalGPS offers state-of-the-art patient experience survey technology, at an affordable price, providing real-time patient feedback to you and your leadership team. After you’re finished here, I invite you to visit MedicalGPS website for more information regarding M3-Patient Experience.