‘’Patient satisfaction is the sum of all interactions multiplied by patient
engagement activities & subtracted with the negative experiences.’’
To state it simply, patient satisfaction is the extent to which a patient is happy with their care experience including both, in-clinic & post-appointment interaction.
However, with the rise in digital health & the evolving mindset of patients, today’s satisfaction is not just limited to the care/treatment given. It is a holistic experience that gets counted. Right from the convenience of booking an appointment to how a doctor keeps the contact intact later, patient satisfaction is a 360-degree calculation.
Having said that, at first taking measures to enrich the patients’ satisfaction & later measuring its outcomes becomes vital. After all, the analysis gives you an insight into things that were lacking & activities that need to be magnified.
2 Major roles of patient satisfaction in the healthcare industry
Patient satisfaction affects-
Clinical outcomes, patient retention, and medical malpractice claims.
The timely, efficient, and patient-centered delivery of quality health care.
Did you know?
Patient Feedback can prove to be the most crucial tool to measure patient satisfaction. Read more about how patient feedback can directly give you insight into patient satisfaction in one of our previous blogs-
https://www.thenthsense.com/post/patient-feedback-is-another-name-to-insight-to-patient-satisfaction
5 further ways to measure patient satisfaction
Well, it’s not only the technical tools that help to measure but also the patient behavior in real life that helps you determine whether your patient is satisfied or not. The increasing consumerism of the healthcare industry indicates that attention is being shifted towards how patients feel about their experiences. This patient experience is now reflecting patient satisfaction.
Having said so, here are 5 non-technical ways that can help you measure patient satisfaction.
Give them a platform to speak/share
Might sound simple but is the easiest way of measuring patient satisfaction. You just need to ensure that they have a platform through which their voice is heard. It will make them feel involved, increasing their chances of transparent opinion. This can be in a form of feedback or just easy as a conversation over a chat or a call.
With all the positive and negative (if any) points shared, you can measure the satisfaction rate and work on the shared opinion.
PS- This shall appear to the patient as personalized care and eventually add to his experience level.
2. Well-crafted patient survey
This can reveal a lot about patient satisfaction, patient experience, and patient engagement; literally the entire healthcare experience. It will provide an accurate measurement of your performance and its satisfaction to a patient.
PS- Introverted patients get ready-made questions making their task of describing in detail a little less. But instead of asking a general, yes/no question like “Were you satisfied with your care?” you can get specific. For instance, ask “How was the appointment-scheduling process for you? Response to such questions might take you toward solutions.
3. Create an interesting in-clinic rating meter
Not all patients agree to fill those long review forms. But if you create something that interests them to interact, for eg. an emoji meter that tells them to share their level with respect to their satisfaction, you got them!
PS- You can simply add a thank you voice/virtual note as a reply to their effort. This will simply bring a smile to their face which they will remember for a long time.
4. Keep a record of referral patients
Positive word of mouth is one of the most prominent elements to measure patient satisfaction. Simply ask your new patients if they have visited you based on recommendations.
PS- Keep a check on such patients every once in a while not for the bonus's sake but as a thank you gesture. This will strengthen their positive experience.
5. Keep sharing health tips to live by
Sharing health tips can work as a two-way tool. It will act as a value addition to your patients and their response to it will help you keep a check on their satisfaction. Thus, you can enhance the patient experience & then calculate patient satisfaction too, just with one tool.
Keynote-
Patient satisfaction weighs more towards making patients feel good about their experience, apart from delivering a high standard of healthcare. Although the fact that cure to the illness is the ultimate goal, the journey to this goal is equally important.
Nth Sense- A platform that empowers you to accomplish this task
Nth Sense is a patient engagement platform that walks on the same path and empowers every healthcare professional to enhance their patients’ satisfaction, measure it, and based on the analysis, practice all the patient engagement activities accordingly.
With a motto to make healthcare a happy experience, Nth Sense focuses on patient satisfaction with its unique strategies and ensures a strengthened bond among a doctor and his patient.
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