Data and analytics can help you effectively manage and improve your patient’s experience. Many times, there is a disconnect between viewing patients as a patient or as a customer. But why can’t they be considered to be both? While the main focus of a physician is providing healthcare care to their patients, quality of care is often overshadowed by customer experience.
Gathering the correct data to make informed decisions about the customer experience within your office is essential, as not all data is equal. You’ll have to take a step back for a minute and think about your patient’s journey.
Most of the time, patients visit the doctor’s office because they are experiencing symptoms of discomfort, which can be very stressful. When dealing with health issues, experiences that can seem trivial at other times can be very upsetting. For instance, having an extended wait time while you’re having intestinal discomfort can hurt satisfaction, which can dominate a quick and accurate diagnosis. You can reduce the stress associated with an office visit by collecting data and improving on satisfactory performing areas. Some areas to consider are:
- Office hours- Are most of the patients in the workforce, and can they benefit from evening and weekend appointments?
- Forms of payment: are your patients looking for the convivence of paying with a credit card, yet you only accept cash or check?
- Wait times: Are you scheduling back to back appointments and having long wait times?
- Walk-ins: Does your office get requests for walk-ins; would it be beneficial to accept them from established long terms patients?
- Office staff: are your front office staff friendly or engaging?
- Digital Records: Would your patients prefer digital access to their test or to fill out forms electronically?
There is a customer experience aspect of visiting a doctor’s office, and using data collected from your patients regarding their office visits can enhance the overall patient satisfaction journey. So, consider collecting data on the points just mentioned and determine where you can improve their experience and help you stay their top choice as a physician.