Improving Patient Satisfaction Is So Easy With These 8 Tricks

Today, most healthcare organizations are working hard to improve patient experience on healthcare services offered. Apart from keeping your patients healthy, improving patient satisfaction can also help raise your practice growth. Satisfied patients are more likely to make follow-up appointments which can easily lead to positive outcomes. This article presents the top 8 tips to improve patient satisfaction.

1. Offer Easy Online Appointment Scheduling

Improving patient satisfaction begins with creating a simple and convenient appointment booking process. Establish a booking system that allows patients to make appointments by whatever method they prefer, whether it is over the phone, via email, online, or in person. Make sure your online appointment scheduling system looks professional and is easy to navigate. Your website may be the first impression some potential patients have of your practice, so provide ample resources and valuable tools. Strive to keep your phone lines open throughout the entire day, including during lunch hours. When answering phone calls, try to be prompt and avoid keeping your patients on hold longer than necessary.

2. Send Timely Reminders To Your Patients

After a patient has booked their appointment, send them a reminder about a week before with directions to reach your facility. This allows time for the patient to reschedule if necessary or contact your office with any questions they may have. If the patient is coming in for a surgery or more complicated procedure, be sure to provide any necessary instructions about how they should prepare for their appointment. Remember that a procedure that is routine for you may be confusing and possibly frightening for your patient. Ease their anxiety by providing a clear description of what they should expect on the day of their appointment.

RELATED: Automated Appointment Reminders: Why It Matters In 2021?

3. Maintain Short Wait Times

When your patient arrives for their scheduled appointment, the front desk staff should greet them with a friendly face and help them check-in quickly. Patients should be directed to a waiting area and given an estimated wait time. As much as possible, try to stick to your appointment schedule and do not keep patients waiting longer than expected. If an emergency arises, be sure to inform patients of the situation and provide an updated wait time. This helps you to improve patient satisfaction of care.

Long wait times can be a major source of frustration for your patients and can lead to poor scores on patient satisfaction surveys. However, often what makes patients unhappy is feeling they have been waiting a long time rather than the actual wait time.

4. Ensure Your Waiting Room Is Very Comfortable

Make your waiting room a place that’s enjoyable for patients before their appointment. Avoid hard furniture and harsh lighting. Instead, fill your waiting room with comfortable seating, use warm lighting to create a more welcoming environment, and stream spa-like music to relax patients. Giving your patients a soothing area to unwind will feel more like a break from their hectic day and less like an inconvenience.

5. Follow Up Appointments Correctly

After the visit, use thoughtful touchpoints to interact with patients to show them you value their feedback. Sending automated patient satisfaction surveys via text or email will yield higher engagement since patients aren’t as likely to submit a survey on their own.

Sending a survey shortly after a visit is the best time to get feedback, as the experience is still top of mind. Even negative feedback can help improve the quality of your services and lead to improved patient satisfaction.

RELATED: How To Develop Your Patient Retention Strategy?

6. Simplify Your Billing Process

When you make it easy for your patients to pay their bills, they are more likely to pay on time, pay in full and be content with your services. Allow patients to pay their bills online so they can complete payments more quickly, which improves cash flow for your practice. Online billing services also allow you to send bills more efficiently and track payments more accurately.

Another essential aspect of offering a streamlined billing process is to ensure your bills are correct. Errors on hospital bills can be frustrating for patients and coding errors can also lead to compliance issues, causing even greater problems for your practice. Working with a revenue cycle management (RCM) partner can help simplify your billing process for both your practice and your patients. Your third-party billing partner can process and track payments efficiently to improve cash flow, minimize billing denials and streamline the payment process for your patients.

7. Share Educational Contents On Social Media

Creating and sharing content on your blog and social media profiles is a great way to provide valuable healthcare information and increase patient satisfaction.

Consider what patients want to know about the treatments and services you offer. What are the most commonly asked questions? Then develop timely, educational content that addresses these questions. Sharing your original blog posts on social media is a great way to drive patients to your practice website to learn more.

8. Reach Your Patients Inbox Directly

Email is another way to have thoughtful communication with patients, likely through a regular newsletter or promotional offers. Patients even prefer email updates, according to a recent report 91 percent of adults like to receive promotional emails from businesses they patron. Use emails to send appointment reminders, alert patients to new services and discounts you offer and provide healthcare tips.

Simplify Your Billing Process With Vozo Medical Billing Software

Improving patient satisfaction can benefit your practice by increasing patient retention, improving the revenue cycle and overall health care of your patient population. These recommendations will lead to significant patient experience improvements.

If you wish to improve your patient experience in your practice, Vozo can help you by proving the best medical billing and practice management software. By optimizing your billing process, enjoy maximum reimbursements and reduced administrative costs while also improving patient satisfaction.

Ready to learn more about how Vozo can help you in your practice growth?