In Patient Engagement, There’s No End to Better

Ensuring exemplary patient experience is not a simple “one and done” proposition for three reasons: patients change, technologies change and expectations change. Yet embracing continuous improvement is essential if you want to provide a consistently superb patient experience. That means staying in sync with patient expectations and getting the most out of solutions for addressing them.

If continuous patient experience improvement sounds excessive, keep one critical fact top of mind: patients have freedom of choice and they’re not afraid to exercise it.

In RevSpring’s most recent national patient survey, 42% of patients said they would look for a new provider after a bad preservice experience. An additional 33% said a poor billing experience would compel them to seek a different provider. Our survey also found that younger people are much more willing to switch providers after a bad billing experience.

What is a bad patient experience? Patients cited not being able to find the right information and not knowing who to contact with questions. Almost one-quarter of patients said lack of self-service options constitutes a bad experience.

Harness the Power of Paying Attention

Striving to make preservice and payments connected and convenient will go a long way towards delighting patients. Texting is an ideal communication tool for many patients today. Offering text chat empowers patients to ask questions, confirm appointments and provide feedback—all in a way that works best for them. Easy payment methods—such as paying with a card on file or by phone—also deliver the self-service options that patients crave now.

Most importantly, don’t stop paying attention to your patients’ actions and feedback—and then acting quickly in response. Data analytics and a well-designed patient dashboard deliver continuous patient insight in a meaningful timeframe.

Paying close attention and continuously fine-tuning the engagement and payment strategies you use with each patient is the best way to give patients the experience they deserve and demand.

Just ask them!