5 Steps to Improve patient journey and deliver great patient experiences

Patient experiences are the biggest factor that contributes to the success of medical practices. If patients do not have great experiences at your medical practice, then they’re going to be choosing other providers instead.

Introduction

Many healthcare organizations have started to realize that improving patient experiences is more than just a nice to have. It’s an essential part of delivering excellent care and making your patients happy – and it’s also one area where you have lots of control over what happens in the appointment process. In fact, studies show that when patients don’t feel like they’re getting exactly what they need from their healthcare providers, they’re much more likely to leave unhappy than if they feel satisfied after their visit ends up being something less than perfect.

The patient journey is all about delivering a great experience for your patients. Your patients don’t just want to get the medicine they need—they want to feel comfortable in their interactions with you, and they want that interaction to be as easy as possible. If you can’t make it easy for them, then chances are they’ll look elsewhere for care. Healthcare providers need to focus on strategies that can help them improve patient experience delivery if they want to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Step 1: Define patient journeys

Define patient journeys. A great patient journey starts with a clear understanding of what your customers need, so you can deliver an optimized patient experience. What are the steps in the journey? Which touchpoints do patients experience, and how often do they occur? How is a patient’s journey different from a patient’s experience, and how does it map to both? These are the questions that your organization needs to answer before they are able to start delivering better experiences to their patients.

The main reason why so many organizations are turning towards patient journey mapping is that it allows them to understand where they can improve their service delivery model and ultimately deliver better care for each individual patient. It allows them to assess potential solutions to improve their customer experience and identify opportunities that can be implemented now or in the future.

Step 2: Map the patient experience with data and insights

You can use data to understand the patient journey and make it better. This is one of the most important steps in improving your patient experience, as it will help you ensure that all patients have a positive experience while at your practice or hospital. The “patient experience” refers to everything from how your organization treats you as a customer when you walk through its doors (from receptionists who greet you warmly on arrival) to when they leave (with their prescriptions and discharge instructions), and using data and insights allow you to understand how each step impacts patients.

Data analysis provides an overview of what patients like, dislike, and want from their healthcare providers. It gives you insight into where improvements need to be made so that everyone gets the care they need. Data also helps identify where there are areas for improvement in terms of service quality and satisfaction levels among patients who have used specific services within your organization (or across multiple organizations).

Your medical practice needs to understand your patient’s needs. You can’t improve your patient’s experience if you don’t know what they’re trying to get from it. Ask questions like: “What do you want from our program?” or “Where do you want us to take your care?”

Step 3: Identify opportunities to improve the patient experience

Knowing how to identify opportunities to improve the patient experience is important. There are several ways you can do this. One of the best ways to do this is by using customer feedback surveys. Your team can create a survey that asks patients about their experiences with your brand or service, and then use the results as a basis for making improvements.

This can be as simple as a survey or as in-depth as an interview, depending on how far you want to go with this. Then, use that information to create a tailored experience for each visitor. For example, if someone signs up for your newsletter but never checks it out again, make sure that the signup process is easy and fun so they don’t feel like they’re wasting their time. If someone wants to contact you but they don’t have your phone number or address handy, make sure there are ways for them to do so easily—and don’t forget those who want to buy something!

Once you’ve identified what your patients need, you need to create a plan for how to get there—whether that means providing information about current services or scheduling appointments for future services or appointments.

Step 4: Assess potential solutions to improve patient experience

Now that you’ve identified potential solutions to improve the patient experience, it’s time to assess their impact. One way to assess potential solutions is through market research. This can help determine whether or not there is enough demand for an improvement in patient experience and whether or not it will be profitable for your company. It can also help identify any possible barriers that would prevent you from implementing a solution.

First, consider all the possible solutions that could address the issue at hand. You may be able to take on multiple projects at once, which will help you cover all bases and get more done in less time. If not, you should prioritize them according to how important they are for your patient’s overall well-being.

Once you’ve identified which issues are most important, break them into smaller pieces. You can tackle them one at a time by first addressing one problem until it’s resolved. Once that’s done, move on to another issue until all have been addressed.

Another key aspect of assessing potential solutions is through the use of surveys and interviews with patients who have recently experienced poor service at your business. Asking them questions about their experiences with your business as well as asking them what they think should be improved upon, will allow you to understand what needs improvement most so that you can implement those solutions.

Step 5: Deliver an optimized patient journey

The fifth step in improving the patient journey is to deliver an optimized patient journey. This means that you have implemented solutions and are measuring the impact of these solutions, but there’s still more work to do in order to achieve your goal.

Measure the results of each solution and evaluate them against the goals set at the beginning of this project. If a particular metric doesn’t show progress toward those goals, then adjust accordingly so that it does. Use these simple steps to help ensure that your actions are in line with those of your patients.

Design an experience that is tailored to the individual needs of each patient—including things like language accessibility (and use of sign language), sensory preferences (for example, color), or other similar considerations that might be important to them as individuals. Make sure all of this is communicated clearly and consistently through all forms of communication—including emails, phone calls, and in-person visits so that patients don’t feel like they’re getting different answers depending on which method they choose to use at any given time!

The following steps are a quick guide to help you identify areas of improvement. Use them as a starting point, or adapt them to fit your specific organization and needs.

Conclusion

In the end, it all comes down to the quality of your patient experience. With these steps, you can ensure that your organization is delivering on its promise of providing quality care and customer satisfaction.

BraveLabs helps healthcare professionals and practices of all sizes to deliver great patient experiences. Using insights and data gathered with patient journey mapping, we help practices be the best that they can be.