6 Ways To Ensure Patient Satisfaction At Hospitals: Factors & Strategies

Waqar Ahmad November 29, 2021

0 18 5 minutes read

With increased patient-centered care in hospitals, what can we expect? The improved patient satisfaction but is it there? Just recently hospitals and medical practitioners have been inclined towards bringing patient-oriented approaches that demand effective communication, flexible payments, increased transparency, and advanced technology that surely satisfies patients.

Hospitals even get an incentive when they ensure higher scores of patient satisfaction and it’s widely dependant upon patients’ overall experience.

The incentives can be utilized to improve quality scores and even ensure faster recovery. These satisfied patients even adhere to the guidelines and even come for follow-ups ensuring patient retention.

In this guide, we will unravel factors influencing patient satisfaction and the effective Ways to ensure it.

Table of Contents

What Is Patient Satisfaction?

What is it and how has it woven its way into the healthcare sector? Patient satisfaction is the determinant that measures the quality of care patients receive as well as how adequately their expectations have been met.

This approach also allows facilities to evaluate the quality improvement aspects and whether they are effective enough or not. It also ensures that the care must be patient-centered and maintain the overall good reputation of the healthcare unit.

Does it determine the success of a facility? Sure thing! It doesn’t only do that but also lets the administrators analyze patients’ overall experience, patient retention, and refund which play a crucial role in distinguishing a facility from others.

Factors Influencing Patient Satisfaction

Certain aspects significantly impact patient satisfaction in a facility, such as:

Patient’s expectations from the facility or the healthcare team catering to him/her.
The treatment plans or the post-care initiatives to ensure they get the best outcome.
The communication gap between healthcare providers and patients.
The environment and culture of a facility align with patients’ personalities.
The recovery time or the wait time patients have to endure after treatment.
Additionally, patient satisfaction is affected by the services provided and the transparency among the professionals and patients.

6 Ways To Ensure Patient Satisfaction At Hospitals

You can ensure patient satisfaction at the hospitals or other healthcare facilities via several approaches, including:

Effective Communication To Build Robust Relationship

How can we define good communication in a healthcare unit? A positive interaction of patients with everyone from the receptionist to the doctors can determine it. Good communication with all of them is essential for strong relationships with the entire unit.

Communication can be built up if patients are involved in every matter and must be informed about their health progress.

Effective communication is possible when clear and direct communication is exchanged between professionals and patients throughout the procedure.

All the questions and concerns are addressed attentively regarding g the treatment plan, payment procedures, prescription, and medical examinations. A proactive help offering must be ensured to not bring a communication gap.

Train Staff To Deal With Patients’ Concerns

Your patients’ might have queries regarding their treatment plan or how to balance their diet which leverages health insurance. Therefore, the staff must be well-equipped to answer all the queries and concerns of patients and even their families.

Additionally, a professional and eloquent staff bridges the gap between patients’ experience and patient satisfaction.

Educate The Patients By Making Them Extra Engaged

Some medical researchers have claimed that according to surveys patients feel unsatisfied and anxious because doctors no longer spend enough time with them and don’t engage them in the progression of treatment.

It’s a myth that patients have this notion that when doctors don’t spend enough time taking their history and don’t communicate enough, they probably haven’t planned optimal treatment solutions.

It further reduces patient satisfaction because they won’t be engaged enough and resultantly don’t adhere to the treatment guidelines.

Healthcare professionals must give sufficient time to their patients and share all the details as well as the treatment. Patients are more confident in their recovery if they are fully aware of the course of treatment which ultimately leads to patient satisfaction.

Ensure Transparency

There’s nothing more important than transparency in all the medical affairs. Sometimes patients are given bills with certain changes and it leaves them fuming over as they weren’t expecting that.

The patients must be communicated beforehand treatment about the possible side effects. So, to ensure patient satisfaction, transparency must be incorporated by clearly discussing all the billings so nothing comes as a surprise.

Patients must be given a brochure or guide about the whole treatment and its drawbacks, so they get a gist before succumbing to the hospital.

To ensure patient satisfaction, they must be informed timely about any change in plans, or if appointments or consultations are delayed at the last moment.

Incorporate Advanced Technology

Incorporating technology is the getaway to patient satisfaction because it sorts out many medical affairs and makes things easier for patients.

If a patient has lost his medical file, and the hospital has advanced software, all of the patient’s data must be on cloud-based software and can be easily retrieved.

If the right tools and software are used, then several processes can be optimised leaving room for less effort and time and improving patient satisfaction.

With increased awareness, patients have become more concerned with their ongoing treatments and prefer to stay updated at each step.

The right way to do it is by going online, if a medical practitioner invests in websites gets on mobile apps, and allows its patients to make online bookings. 67% of prospective patients prefer this approach as it lets them access medical care more conveniently.

Most 70% of patients prefer their doctors to send them regular text or email reminders for appointments or follow-ups. So if a practitioner invests in technology that automatically sends such follow-up emails without human intervention can have optimal patient satisfaction.

Propose Flexible Payment Plans

Patient satisfaction becomes mandatory when patients are offered flexible payment plans. As the patients have to pay every penny from their pocket, they prefer payment flexibility by splitting bills into installments that can be easily paid.

In that way, they can experience better medical care without fussing over finances and charges.

A strategic payment plan ensures patient satisfaction and gives a hospital an edge over its competitive facilities. What’s better than one management platform that allows the hospital to track patients and payments through one login dashboard?

Bottom-line

In conclusion, patient satisfaction demands some serious efforts from the healthcare providers and the hospital. It can’t be achieved overnight or with typical plans, hospitals need to ensure a strong relationship with effective communication between patients and the staff. It can be ensured only if the patients are given personalized care, prompt attention towards matters, and patient feedback.

If the hospital gives special attention to delays and wait times and provides a comfortable environment and friendly culture, then patient satisfaction becomes paramount.

Genuine care teams must be established so that patients feel more valued and receive top-notch care.

Give it a thorough read to understand better the approaches hospitals need to focus on, and have you ever been unsatisfied with hospital services?

FAQs on Patient Satisfaction

How do you determine patient satisfaction?

It can be determined by taking patients’ feedback, in this regard, written surveys seem to be the best approach, however telephonic surveys or in-person interviews can also be taken.

What are the criteria for patient satisfaction?

It’s a measure of how well the hospitals meet the patient’s requirements and needs and includes factors like access to care, overall experience, communication, and quality of care.

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