When your facililty makes improving patient satisfaction one of its goals, consider that the patient experience goes beyond the healthcare services each person receives. In addition to focusing on improving medical care, we ask you to put yourself in the shoes of your patients to see how the following six methods could improve their overall experience and level of satisfaction while in your facility.
Use Technology
Technology has the ability to improve many areas of people’s lives, and the same can be said of its ability to improve the patient experience. One example is that hospitals are starting to offer tablets that gives patients some level of control over their patient experience. For instance, they can use the tablet to change the temperature in their rooms and watch an educational video. If you decide to get tablets for patients, you can keep track of them with our convenient docking stations.
Create a Calming Room
People are often stressed and worried while in the hospital. You can anticipate patients’ need to reduce stress and calm down by creating relaxing rooms and spaces. Consider adding plants, soothing paint colors and using relaxing tools, such as calming music, water fountains and aromatherapy. We even offer unique calming tools, such as bubble tubes and a wireless sensory room.
Create a Welcoming Waiting Room
Your waiting room is the introduction to the rest of your services, so it should make a positive first impression. Simple changes can help calm the atmosphere and help patients feel welcome and important. Take away loud noises and other stressful aspects of the room and play soothing music instead. Organize magazines to keep them neat, and consider adding toys and games in a designated area for children. Also, make the decor soothing with soft colors and natural accents, such as plants or nature pictures.
Offer Therapeutic Services
Consider adding some alternative therapies to your overall therapy offerings. These could include art and music therapy, which have the potential to help patients recover physically and emotionally. Art therapy has even been associated with reducing pain in patients with cancer. You could add tools, such as art supplies and musical instruments, for patients to engage in art and music themselves. Also, consider bringing in professionals or volunteers to facilitate the therapies.
Offer Amenities Like a Hotel
Patients like hospitals that mimic high-end hotels with a nice atmosphere and amenities. A 2010 article in The New England Journal of Medicine highlighted that “patients themselves said that the nonclinical experience is twice as important as the clinical reputation in making hospital choices.” Some amenities that make a difference include massage therapy, private rooms and stellar views from those rooms. Some hospitals are even providing gifts like champagne for the parents of a new baby. Consider what kinds of amenities your hospital could offer, and possibly survey patients on what they would like.
Provide Tools to Facilitate Recovery
You can also offer patients a customized experience with tools that help facilitate their own recovery. Some tools could even provide a better experience to promote overall health and well-being. For instance, we carry a variety of rehab tools and exercise tools you could add to patient rooms or specific hospital areas. We also carry tools for specific concerns and goals, such as sensory processing products.
It’s important to recognize that the patient experience is about more than the medical care. A patient notices every aspect of the facility from the time she arrives to when she leaves. Think about that entire experience when trying to improve patient satisfaction, and consider our list of six ways to boost that level.
