In our Practice Management Nugget series on December 4, 2014, we spoke with Susan Keane Baker, author of Managing Patient Expectations – the Art of Finding and Keeping Loyal Patients. There are many things that you can do right away to improve patient satisfaction.

Register here for our replay of our December 4th interview with Susan Keane Baker – Register for the Replay!

Susan’s #1 Tip to implement a patient satisfaction program

Self-test your clinic practice – find an evidence based patient satisfaction survey. Share the survey with all staff in the practice. Complete the survey as you think the average patient would answer the survey. Discuss your low scores and plan how you can improve.

What are the key drivers of patient satisfaction?

The patient’s willingness to recommend the practice to their family and friends is one of the highest drivers of patient satisfaction. Then ask, what can we do to earn a higher score from you? When you ask patients this question you are engaging the patient and learning how to improve the culture and services in your practice.

Not sure where to start? Improve your practice website

There is a direct correlation on the quality of your website to patient satisfaction. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your website needs a lot of graphics and glam; keep it practical and meaningful for the patient. Develop a Frequently Asked Questions list – FAQ. What questions do your patients ask? Keep a list of the FAQ and post the questions and the answers on your website. When patients can find the answers that they need-–like the hours that your clinic is open, how to find parking or transit, what is the fees for uninsured services, etc-–the patient feels that the practice is providing additional value and are more likely to refer your practice to their family and friends. It doesn’t hurt that having the FAQ’s on your website reduces the time that your staff spends on the phone to answer the same questions!

Do your patients trust you?

Patients decide if they can trust their healthcare provider based on three questions that they ask themselves. Here are the questions and easy steps you can take to improve your patient-provider relationship.

1. Can I trust you? Safeguarding patient information, spending enough time with the patient, speaking with the patient at the same eye-to-eye level as the patient at key communication points improves patients’ trust of the provider.
2. Are you good at what you do? Being prepared for the patient visit, not having long waits, review the chart before seeing the patient, and remember to introduce yourself to the patient. Use your first and last name when you introduce yourself to demonstrate your confidence in the service that you provide.
3. Do you care about me? Appropriate touch, after visit summaries (what was the reason for the visit today, what instructions do I have). These closing steps leave impressions on the patient even after the visit that makes them feel truly cared for.

Do you introduce the next staff person?

When you introduce the patient to the next person who is going to provide care for them, take the opportunity to say, “Susan in x-ray is going to take good care of you. When your exam is finished, I will come back to escort you back to the physician’s office.” When someone internal to the organization speaks well about the next person in the episode of care, they help to answer both ‘are you good at what you do’ and ‘do you care about me’.

Share your comment cards

Ask your patients about their visit and then take the opportunity to recognize the staff that contributed to the positive feedback. This helps the staff feel engaged, and is a good emotional boost on those tough days and when performance appraisal is required.

Key drivers to patient satisfaction

Patients will make their opinion about the care that they received primarily based on their responses to these questions:

• Did the provider spend enough time with me?
• Were my emotional needs met?
• Did I feel accepted and not judged?
• Did I receive excellent care?

Observable behaviour keeps you on track

Using tools like scripts, comment cards, and after visit surveys also makes it easier for you to coach, train, and provide feedback to the team members. Consistent, excellent services increase both patient satisfaction and job satisfaction.

A patient satisfaction program in your practice includes simple daily activities that you can do with your team to keep excellent care service top of mind. For more tips, tools, and resources that you can use right away to keep patient satisfaction as an on-going priority in your practice, see Susan’s website, http://susanbaker.com.

Practice Management Nugget webinar interview with Susan Keane Baker recorded live on Thursday December 4, 2014. Listen to the replay now!

Register here for our replay of our December 4th interview with Susan Keane Baker – Register for the Replay!