Optimizing the Patient Experience: A Team Approach

Patient experience has become a cornerstone of medical office operations. It significantly influences patient outcomes, satisfaction, and overall well-being. Patient experience sums up all interactions with the healthcare team including providers, clinical staff, and administrative staff. This requires a comprehensive approach that integrates the expertise and efforts of every single team member. Taking a collaborative approach ensures the team is working together to address all aspects of patient care from clinical treatment to finances.

A Multidisciplinary Team Approach

Each team member offers unique skills and perspectives that contribute to the overall patient experience. Team members must effectively communicate not only verbally, but also using technology such as shared electronic health records. This makes certain the entire team is informed about the patient's condition, treatment plan, and progress while reducing the risk of errors, duplicative services, and conflicting information. A team approach emphasizes patient-centered care, where the patient's preferences, values, and needs are prioritized. This involves actively engaging patients in shared decision-making and respecting their opinions and decisions. Team members work together to provide personalized care plans that align with the patient's goals and expectations leading to the overall patient experience.

Patient Expectations

Having a mission of delivering excellent patient experience allows medical offices to increase their rate of positive interactions and outcomes. It also helps to standardize the level of care patients should receive, helps generate revenue, and improves care quality.¹ However, prior to any action taken, medical administrators must understand what is important to the patient. Focusing on patient expectations will help the team build strategies for optimizing patient experience.

Enhanced Communication

Patients expect clear and compassionate communication. The healthcare team should practice active listening and empathy. Provide patients with clear and concise information about their condition and treatment options. Avoid using medical jargon and allow the patient to speak uninterrupted. Excellent communication builds trust and patient loyalty.

Quality of Care

Patients expect to receive high-quality care that is effective and safe. They want to be confident that they are in capable hands and that their health is being prioritized. This includes accurate diagnoses, evidence-based treatment options, and a commitment to patient safety.²

Operational Efficiency

When office operations are efficient, patients experience smoother check-in processes, shorter wait times, and ease of appointment scheduling. Streamlining clinical workflows such as triage and medication refills, can minimize delays in patient care and improve patient experience.

Care Coordination

Care coordination significantly improves the patient’s experience by ensuring seamless transitions between healthcare providers, reducing confusion, providing timely access to necessary services, and empowering patients to actively participate in their care, leading to a more coordinated and positive overall healthcare journey.

Billing Transparency

Billing transparency builds trust, reduces financial surprises, and helps patients make informed decisions about their treatment options. Patients want to know what they owe upfront and expect accurate and timely bills. Patients want options to pay their bills such as online bill pay and payment plans.

Courtesy and Respect

Patients often make conclusions about the healthcare they will receive based on interactions with the front office and clinical staff, even before their first interaction with the physician. Courtesy and respect are fundamental values that build trust and make patients feel heard and valued, leading to a stronger patient-provider relationship.

Environment

The office space has a substantial impact on patient experience. Patients are looking for an office that is clean, well-organized, and welcoming. Consider your seating, lighting, and layout when designing your space. Even artwork, access to Wi-Fi, and traffic flow can influence patient experience. Patients also want easy parking and easy access to the facility.

The Value of Patient Experience Surveys

Patient surveys provide valuable feedback directly from patients allowing the practice to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. Surveys provide quantitative data that can be used to develop a patient experience strategy and benchmark success by comparing surveys from one quarter to another. One of the most popular for medical offices is the Clinician & Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG-CAHPS) survey.

Conclusion

If you are interested in a deeper dive into this topic, I invite you to join me Tuesday, March 11 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. CST for a comprehensive 3-hour webinar. This course is designed to help you promote patient engagement and achieve clinical outcomes that will improve your bottom line. This webinar will focus on 5 key areas:

1. Creating a patient-centric experience that promotes engagement in their own care.
2. Involving patients and their families with surveys and clinical engagement methods.
3. Participants will receive tips and tools to measure patient satisfaction and boost quality performance measures.
4. QPP / MIPS / APMs
5. Care Compare and Public Reporting

The course fee is $239, but because of your affiliation with Oncology Practice Management, you may register at www.pmimd.com/live_webinar_training/DL-OPE.php?af=25972-0311 with a 20% discount using code: OPM2025

References

1. WGU. What Is Patient Experience And Why Is It Important? Accessed online at: www.wgu.edu/blog/patient-experience-why-is-it-important2302.html
2. WUWTA. Three Things All Patients Want. Accessed online at https://info.getwuwta.com/three-things-all-patients-want/

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