Patient-centered care is a buzzword in the health industry. But what does it mean? Is it just another way to say that your doctor listens to you? Or is it something more? The answer depends on who you ask, but there are some common themes that emerge when talking about this: patient-centered care improves health outcomes, is associated with reduced costs for patients, and gives providers better insight into the patient experience.
Impact on healthcare outcomes
Patient-centered care improves outcomes because it puts the patient first. Instead of relying solely on tests and observations, this allows the patient to advocate for themselves and take nuances into account that might’ve otherwise been missed.
#1 Increased trust
It focuses on building strong relationships between providers and patients as individuals with shared decision making between them based on mutual respect and trust. This type of relationship promotes better communication between healthcare providers and patients, which leads to greater satisfaction for both parties involved in the treatment process.
#2 Better healthcare outcomes
An important aspect of patient-centeredness is individualized attention — the ability for caregivers (doctors/nurses) to recognize each person’s unique needs by learning about their values, preferences, priorities etc., so that they can provide customized care specific for each patient.
By tailoring the treatment plan based on each patient’s unique needs, this approach also improves the overall outcome, thereby enhancing patient satisfaction.
#3 Improved reputation
When your patients are happy, they’re going to spread the word. They’re going to say nice things about you, and that’s just the right strategy to improve your reputation and earn plenty of brand ambassadors. Moreover, people who’ve heard nice things about your brand are also more likely to start off on a positive note starting off the snowball effect of positivity!
#4 Higher job satisfaction
The first step to patient satisfaction is staff engagement and satisfaction. After all, happy employees will deliver the best services. And what’s more, it’s a circle that keeps on giving!
Once you set the train on the right tracks, you’ll notice that happier patients also lead to better experiences for your staff and an overall higher level of job satisfaction – all while creating an environment where your people go above and beyond to deliver the best experiences!
How patient-centered care became an essential
The goal of patient-centered care is for patients to be actively engaged in their own care. Patient-centered health plans can help achieve this by encouraging communication between patients and providers, and empowering patients to make informed decisions about their treatment options.
The growing demand for patient-centered health is tied to the growing consumerization of health (the fact that people want more control over their own healthcare decisions). As more consumers demand choice—whether it be which hospital they go to or what type of procedure they undergo—the practice needs to adapt accordingly in order for them not only get better but also feel better when leaving their appointment with a new diagnosis or prescription medication plan in hand.
The first step towards patient centricity
As a provider, you may be familiar with the concept of patient-centered care. It’s not just about the doctor, but patient experience extends to all aspects of healthcare and includes both patients and their loved ones. Patient-centered care can help healthcare providers learn more about how their patients feel about their treatment, making it easier to make changes that improve the overall patient experience.
There are many ways that medical professionals can gather information on how individual patients feel about their care. One way is simply asking them questions during visits or phone calls—the doctor might ask what they like best about coming in for appointments or what else they can do to make the experience better.
However, the more efficient option is simply sending surveys after each appointment. It’s easy to automate, and allows you to gather all the information in one place. And what’s more, with a great experience management solution like Sogolytics, you can analyze the data and read between the lines to track down exactly what went wrong or what you’re already doing right to identify the next best step!
The power of feedback collection
Understand what matters most to your patients. The right feedback collection solution helps you identify your key strengths and weaknesses so you know just what you need to double down on and what needs to improve.
Moreover, with natural language processing to gather sentiment analytics, you’ll be able to identify concerns early on, before they snowball into something bigger!
Patient experience management has become a critical differentiator in modern times. As consumerization increases, medical centers need to focus on more than just getting their patients better – they need to create an experience from the beginning that helps the patients feel good. By seeking feedback, implementing suggestions, and ensuring an environment that takes patient concerns into account, they have the ability to not only improve healthcare outcomes but also increase their bottom line!
Final Words
While patient experience has increasingly become a marketing buzzword, it’s so much more than that. It’s an essential part of the modern healthcare system and has a significant impact on the way patients feel at the end of the day.
After all, as every medical professional knows, medicine isn’t just about the right treatment plan but also about the mental state of the patients as they view their recovery.
A space where they feel safe and can trust the medical professionals attending them makes a dramatic impact on their mental state – and the best way to do so is by really focusing on understanding patient needs beyond their treatment plan.
With the right experience management platform, medical providers can better read between the lines to target pain points—and that means better health outcomes for everyone involved.
