Thanksgiving is all about expressing your appreciation and thankfulness to people who have impacted your life in positive ways. At the same time, your patient’s satisfaction with your healthcare services is an important aspect of customer service. This Thanksgiving we would like to combine both topics and share our guide on how to increase your customer satisfaction and show your gratitude to the patients in these 5 ways:
TRAIN STAFF TO HANDLE COMPLAINTS
One of the worst things you can do is not listen to your patients. When patients have a complaint your staff needs to address the problem. Thus, designing a form on your website or having one available at the office where patients can submit complaints or criticism is the best way to gratify your patients this Thanksgiving and show you’re willing to listen.
Appointing a staff member to deal with complaints paves the way to resolutions. Good customer service means trying to resolve the problem by listening and understanding the situation. Often patients just want to be heard and understood. When you listen to complaints and attempt to solve the problem, this ensures that the patient feels understood and important. Teach all of your staff members how to handle patient complaints effectively.
FIND WAYS TO REDUCE WAIT TIMES AND ENHANCE THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE
Waiting in a doctor’s office for long periods of time can be a tiring experience. When you’re dealing with a backup and anticipate a long wait time for your patients, a staff member should provide them with an accurate time frame for their wait upfront. Oftentimes patients are left to wait without any clarification which can be frustrating and negatively impact their experience at your practice. By simply informing the patient about whatever the dilemma is, it allows them to understand the situation. Additionally, when you keep them in the loop, they often can forgive inconveniences and mistakes.
However, that’s only half of the equation. A patient can be forgiving of a longer than usual wait, but that doesn’t mean they will enjoy waiting. Having a TV in the waiting room, magazines, healthy snacks etc., ensures a pleasurable waiting experience and shows your gratitude for choosing your healthcare practice.
CALL THEM BY THEIR NAME AND CATER TO THEIR PREFERENCES
When you call your patients by name, you make them feel important. Training your staff to learn each patient’s preferences and hang-ups show that you have empathy for their situations and care about them. For example, if a patient has a fear of needles, showing empathy when you draw blood or give injections makes their experience less stressful. Make sure you remember this: understanding and empathy are the keys to good patient relations.
USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION
Using social media to improve communication between your staff and patients is a great tactic. Appoint a staff member to keep track of Facebook posts or other social media platforms that you use. This gives patients the opportunity to contact you and receive a quick response. On top of that, your availability and interest will make them feel special.
In addition, social media provides effective tools for patient educations and answering medical questions. A staff member can direct the question to doctors or nurses when they do not know the answers. Your patient will feel like a star knowing they will get a quick response from your staff.
USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO CONNECT PATIENTS AND EDUCATE THEM
Social media builds a sense of community among patients going to the same hospital or doctor’s office with others. To use this benefit, make sure to set up a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages where patients can share health information and personal stories. This makes the patient feel important and gives them a chance to connect. Moreover, providing useful health information on the website and forums to discuss wellness and treatment means you care about the patient and their well being. Assigning a staff member or healthcare agency like Atlantic Healthcare Solutions to moderate your social media pages will help you keep the experience positive for both your patients and staff.
Customer satisfaction is crucial to patient-centered care and patient appreciation, and holidays like Thanksgiving are a great time to start working on your customer satisfaction by showing your genuine gratitude to your customers to make them feel like stars. An experienced healthcare marketing agency like Atlantic Health Solutions can help you design an effective marketing and social media program that emphasizes patient satisfaction and care. Feel free to reach out to us to learn more about your marketing options! We will be happy to discuss your goals and determine the appropriate strategy for your healthcare practice.