Why does patient satisfaction matter and how to make it great?

While the answer may seem obvious, it is crucial for any healthcare provider or facility to understand the critical role of patient satisfaction.

What is patient satisfaction?

Patient satisfaction indicates how well the patient has been treated. It refers to the patient’s contentment regarding the way he/she feels about the treatment provided and the outcome of the treatment on the patient’s health. Today’s patients are far more vocal and are well aware of their options with healthcare. So every healthcare business needs to pay special attention to the degree of patient satisfaction they can achieve. According to a recent study, more than half of the healthcare companies say that patient satisfaction is one of their top three priorities.

So why do businesses need to pay so much attention to patient satisfaction? Here are the top three reasons to give you insights into the importance of patient satisfaction.

Loyalty comes from the satisfaction

If you get exceptional service for a particular need, most likely the next time around, you will not go somewhere else to fulfilling the same need. Likewise, if you design your service to fulfill your patient’s expectations well, provide them with proper care and personal attention, to satisfy their needs, they will not go anywhere else for their future healthcare needs but will come to you. So if you successfully satisfy one patient, you are creating future opportunities for your company. In the same way, if you fail to do so, you are losing many patients simultaneously. So providing patient satisfaction is an investment you do for your healthcare business to increase patient retention rate by providing them with high-quality services for them to stay loyal to you.

Patient satisfaction brings new patients

Word of mouth is the strongest marketing channel. People listen to personal recommendations rather than any marketing channel in whatever product or services they go for, especially when it comes to healthcare. People believe that marketing channels are just doing their job by selling their healthcare services, and they need not be accurate or trustworthy. But when they get a recommendation from a friend or a family member, they tend to believe it.

So if you provide patient satisfaction to your current customers, they will discuss it with their friends, family, and relatives. If any of them need any healthcare services, your clinic or facility will be the first choice for them. According to a study, on average, every satisfied patient tends to share their positive experience with at least five people. So by providing patient satisfaction, you are doing free patient acquisition marketing in front of those five people. This brings new patients and builds trust, and the cycle goes on.

Patient satisfaction influences the outcome of the treatment

Almost in 80% of studies, patient experience was positively related to the effectiveness of the treatment and patient safety. It means a patient is more likely to have better clinical outcomes when he trusts his physician. And the trust in the doctor comes from the way they feel about the care they receive. So as a doctor, meeting the expectations of your patients not only increases the level of satisfaction but also makes your job easier. Because they adhere to your prescription, they feel positive mentally, positively affecting their recovery. So if you try to improve patient satisfaction, your hospital will have a positive record of higher recovery percentage.

Now that we have spoken about the importance of patient satisfaction, how we achieve patient satisfaction, and what must be done to improve patient satisfaction.

Build rapport

Fear and nervousness often create barriers to good communication between a doctor and a patient. So before jumping into the clinical questions and technicalities, talking to the patient about their current status and their lives will help build trust. It will make your patient comfortable. Engaging with your patient for a few minutes before diagnosis and treatment also help you know their fears, and you can create a personalized way of treatment keeping those in mind.

Educate the patient

You need to educate your patients about their exact health conditions. Sometimes a new update about a diagnosis can be terrifying for your patient, and they also feel nervous when they don’t exactly understand what the update is and what it means for them. So by using non-technical language, by making them understand what has been diagnosed, they will feel calmer and less worried. This will improve patient satisfaction and also enhance the communication levels between you and your patients.

Give a personal touch

When you make eye contact with your patients rather than looking at computer screens, it reflects your dedication. Also, taking the patient’s name in between the conversation makes them feel important, building two-way communication. You can ask personalized questions to ensure that there’s involvement and inter-activeness from the patients as well. This will add a personal touch to your treatment. There is proof that this personal attention enhances trust and increases clinical outcomes.

Cleanliness is important

Healthcare is the most crucial aspect of anyone’s life. It is closely associated with Cleanliness. So as a physician, it’s important for you to be paying attention to Cleanliness in your hospital. No patient wants to be treated in a dirty and unsafe environment. So the practice of Cleanliness in every area of the facility is a must, starting from the waiting room to the doctor’s chamber. It makes your patients feel safe and protected and puts them into comfort zones.

Listen to your patients

Sometimes a physician tends to get impatient while listening to their patients. This is the worst kind of experience you can provide your patients. So with all patience, it is essential to listen to your patients, know their problems and make them comfortable to share everything. And based upon all those, diagnose and prescribe medicines. Listening to your patients carefully without any distraction takes your patients’ satisfaction to another level.

Conclusion

If you are in the healthcare business, you cannot neglect the importance of patient satisfaction. It is not a difficult thing to achieve. Instead, it needs desire, attention, and dedication. So make better choices to enhance your patient satisfaction and therefore expand your businesses.