While healthcare organizations generally regard patient satisfaction as a worthy pursuit, it often takes a back seat to more mission critical tasks. But as CMS rolls out its Hospital Inpatient Value-based Purchasing Program and the financial impact of HCAHPS scores become a reality, providers must now find ways to improve the patient experience in the midst of competing demands like ICD-10 and meaningful use.
With 30 percent of hospital incentive payments hinging solely on patient experience measures, many organizations focus their efforts on areas directly tied to survey questions, such as noise reduction and patient rounding. And, even though this seems like a wise place to start, it's virtually impossible to improve the patient experience without first taking a closer look at the underlying culture that drives each and every aspect of a hospital stay.
Consider this: the patient experience begins long before an individual walks in the door and extends well beyond the discharge process, from pre-registering for the visit all of the way through paying the bill and scheduling follow-up appointments. At every step, the patient's perceptions about a hospital are being formed, and those organizations likely to fare the best are ones that take a systemic approach to satisfaction and quality.
In fact, a recent report issued by Press Ganey reveals that healthcare institutions with HCAHPS scores in the top 25 percent also had the highest clinical scores and were the most profitable. The analysis, which reviewed both HCAHPS surveys and hospital financial data, suggests that excellence is often the result of broader improvement efforts rather than stand-alone initiatives aimed at increasing survey scores.
So how can hospitals create a more patient-centered culture? In looking at industries like banking, retail and travel, it's clear that the growth of self-service technology has played a critical role in transforming the customer experience. By allowing consumers to manage routine interactions at the time and place that is most convenient to them, self-service has gone from a "nice to have" to a "must have" for organizations looking to build loyalty and drive satisfaction. In the healthcare arena, self-service offers a way to meet these changing consumer expectations and provides a roadmap for the journey toward a more positive patient experience.
First impressions
A patient's initial interaction with a hospital will likely take place online well in advance of an actual visit or procedure, and making this experience a pleasant one can go a long way toward ensuring a positive first impression. By providing a robust patient portal that simplifies processes like appointment scheduling and pre-registration, hospitals can boost convenience while projecting an image that is both innovative and patient-friendly.
Then, when patients arrive at the healthcare facility, any required forms are already pre-populated with information provided during the scheduling and pre-registration process. Patients simply validate this information via a check-in kiosk, provide any additional data that is needed, sign forms and make co-payments before proceeding to the next stage of care. As a result, they are able to bypass long lines, lengthy wait times and clipboards overflowing with sheets of paper. For patients with serious medical conditions, eliminating the stress and hassles associated with a time-consuming and cumbersome check-in process can be a huge benefit.
Self-service kiosks can also curb patient anxiety by providing wayfinding navigation that virtually maps out visits in large, complex medical buildings and campuses. By giving patients and visitors the ability to print customized maps with step-by-step directions to and from multiple points within a facility, wayfinding kiosks minimize the confusion and frustration associated with being lost or late for an important appointment.
In both instances, self-service not only expedites routine processes but it also frees up staff to focus on more pressing patient concerns. Without the need to manage piles of paperwork or provide detailed directions to a patient's next destination, staff members are no longer tied to a desk and can greet patients upon arrival, guide them to an available kiosk and answer any questions that may arise.
Lasting connections
Once patients are discharged, they may continue to interact with their providers for a number of weeks, or even months, following a visit. In addition to streamlining the process of scheduling follow up appointments, self-service also enables patients to remit payment the same way they handle the rest of their bills — via online or mobile channels. According to a 2010 consumer billing and payment trends survey conducted by Fiserv, Inc., 72.5 million U.S. households use online banking and 36.4 million households use online bill payment.
Giving patients the ability to view account balances, enroll in payment plans and make payments quickly and efficiently, via their method of choice, is an important step toward delivering a better overall experience. It can even make the difference when it’s time for patients to select a healthcare provider. A 2010 survey conducted by Buzzback Research found that 79 percent of respondents would be more likely to select a provider that allows them to manage everyday healthcare interactions — such as appointment scheduling, registration and bill payment — over the Internet, at a self-service kiosk or on a mobile device.
Patients that prefer to interact with their provider via self-service channels can even opt in to receive appointment reminders, test results or other messages as text alerts on their mobile phones. Giving patients greater control over how, when and where they receive their information can not only boost satisfaction, but it also builds loyalty and meets the growing consumer demand for on-the-go convenience.
Stronger relationships
Empowering patients with self-service tools helps to facilitate a positive patient experience at each step of the care process, from online scheduling and automated check-in to wayfinding kiosks and mobile bill pay. Aside from saving patients valuable time, self-service creates more meaningful interactions, delivers a more personalized experience and supports an organization’s broader mission to create a patient-centered culture.
Jim Dowling is general manager of NCR Healthcare.
Patient Experience: Hospitals Executives Focus on Service at Regional Roundtable
With 30 percent of hospital incentive payments hinging solely on patient experience measures, many organizations focus their efforts on areas directly tied to survey questions, such as noise reduction and patient rounding. And, even though this seems like a wise place to start, it's virtually impossible to improve the patient experience without first taking a closer look at the underlying culture that drives each and every aspect of a hospital stay.
Consider this: the patient experience begins long before an individual walks in the door and extends well beyond the discharge process, from pre-registering for the visit all of the way through paying the bill and scheduling follow-up appointments. At every step, the patient's perceptions about a hospital are being formed, and those organizations likely to fare the best are ones that take a systemic approach to satisfaction and quality.
In fact, a recent report issued by Press Ganey reveals that healthcare institutions with HCAHPS scores in the top 25 percent also had the highest clinical scores and were the most profitable. The analysis, which reviewed both HCAHPS surveys and hospital financial data, suggests that excellence is often the result of broader improvement efforts rather than stand-alone initiatives aimed at increasing survey scores.
So how can hospitals create a more patient-centered culture? In looking at industries like banking, retail and travel, it's clear that the growth of self-service technology has played a critical role in transforming the customer experience. By allowing consumers to manage routine interactions at the time and place that is most convenient to them, self-service has gone from a "nice to have" to a "must have" for organizations looking to build loyalty and drive satisfaction. In the healthcare arena, self-service offers a way to meet these changing consumer expectations and provides a roadmap for the journey toward a more positive patient experience.
First impressions
A patient's initial interaction with a hospital will likely take place online well in advance of an actual visit or procedure, and making this experience a pleasant one can go a long way toward ensuring a positive first impression. By providing a robust patient portal that simplifies processes like appointment scheduling and pre-registration, hospitals can boost convenience while projecting an image that is both innovative and patient-friendly.
Then, when patients arrive at the healthcare facility, any required forms are already pre-populated with information provided during the scheduling and pre-registration process. Patients simply validate this information via a check-in kiosk, provide any additional data that is needed, sign forms and make co-payments before proceeding to the next stage of care. As a result, they are able to bypass long lines, lengthy wait times and clipboards overflowing with sheets of paper. For patients with serious medical conditions, eliminating the stress and hassles associated with a time-consuming and cumbersome check-in process can be a huge benefit.
Self-service kiosks can also curb patient anxiety by providing wayfinding navigation that virtually maps out visits in large, complex medical buildings and campuses. By giving patients and visitors the ability to print customized maps with step-by-step directions to and from multiple points within a facility, wayfinding kiosks minimize the confusion and frustration associated with being lost or late for an important appointment.
In both instances, self-service not only expedites routine processes but it also frees up staff to focus on more pressing patient concerns. Without the need to manage piles of paperwork or provide detailed directions to a patient's next destination, staff members are no longer tied to a desk and can greet patients upon arrival, guide them to an available kiosk and answer any questions that may arise.
Lasting connections
Once patients are discharged, they may continue to interact with their providers for a number of weeks, or even months, following a visit. In addition to streamlining the process of scheduling follow up appointments, self-service also enables patients to remit payment the same way they handle the rest of their bills — via online or mobile channels. According to a 2010 consumer billing and payment trends survey conducted by Fiserv, Inc., 72.5 million U.S. households use online banking and 36.4 million households use online bill payment.
Giving patients the ability to view account balances, enroll in payment plans and make payments quickly and efficiently, via their method of choice, is an important step toward delivering a better overall experience. It can even make the difference when it’s time for patients to select a healthcare provider. A 2010 survey conducted by Buzzback Research found that 79 percent of respondents would be more likely to select a provider that allows them to manage everyday healthcare interactions — such as appointment scheduling, registration and bill payment — over the Internet, at a self-service kiosk or on a mobile device.
Patients that prefer to interact with their provider via self-service channels can even opt in to receive appointment reminders, test results or other messages as text alerts on their mobile phones. Giving patients greater control over how, when and where they receive their information can not only boost satisfaction, but it also builds loyalty and meets the growing consumer demand for on-the-go convenience.
Stronger relationships
Empowering patients with self-service tools helps to facilitate a positive patient experience at each step of the care process, from online scheduling and automated check-in to wayfinding kiosks and mobile bill pay. Aside from saving patients valuable time, self-service creates more meaningful interactions, delivers a more personalized experience and supports an organization’s broader mission to create a patient-centered culture.
Jim Dowling is general manager of NCR Healthcare.
Related Articles on Patient Experience:
Report: Investment in Patient Experience Impacts Finances, Marketing and Clinical MeasuresPatient Experience: Hospitals Executives Focus on Service at Regional Roundtable