Doctors, Put Smiles On Your Patients’ Faces!

If you’re running a private clinic or another business in the healthcare industry, then you know how fast-paced and frantic it can be. Between seeing patients, crunching through paperwork and answering the odd trivial query, you’re going to be pretty strained to ensure that you’re fulfilling your duty and maintaining your sanity! It may be difficult, but in all that stress and chaos, it’s still important to think about the comfort and convenience of your patients. Here’s some advice for improving their satisfaction and experience.

First of all, think about ways you can make the patient’s experience a little more convenient. It’s 2016, and the world is more connected than it’s ever been before. With all the technology we have at our fingertips, and more being developed all the time, there’s really no need for inaccessibility or minor inconveniences that get between patients and the care that they need. Despite this, the healthcare industry remains strained by its own nature in a lot of institutions, and countless patients, possibly including yours, are having to deal with various inconveniences every day. To make life a little easier for your patients, consider setting up an online booking system or look at some products from a telemedicine company. In the long run, your patients will trust that you’re striving to deliver more for them and will feel more at home using seamless, convenient systems.

Once you’ve made a few of these minor changes, the next step in improving your patients’ experiences should be trying to experience your care through their eyes. Park in the patient parking area, and think about how hard it could be to cross from one end to the other with crutches or a wheelchair. Try bringing someone in who’s unfamiliar with the clinic, and see how easy or difficult it is for them to find a specific area or facility. The next time you’re in the waiting area, listen to the tone your receptionists use on the phone. If you were a patient, would this level of service make you feel assured or concerned? When you view the institution through the eyes of a patient, all kinds of different flaws can become apparent.

Finally, carry on benchmarking other clinics, but make sure you’re going above and beyond the level of care, they’re providing. When you’re running a business in the healthcare sector, benchmarking is massive, but can often work in the wrong way. If you’re paying attention to the other clinics in the surrounding area and adjusting your level of service accordingly, then you’re on the right track. However, you shouldn’t be doing the bare minimum to keep competitive. Give your patients more! They’re going to be comparing you to every other clinic they’ve been treated at, and making sure that yours is superior is one sure-fire way to make sure that they don’t leave you for a competitor over some little detail. You’ll also do a lot for your professional reputation by providing a superior level of customer service. These people don’t quit social media as soon as they become your patients!

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