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With the continuously increasing care centers (from small clinics to large hospitals) in today’s time, patients have got numerous healthcare options to keep themselves hale and hearty. That’s why it has become imperative for doctors to deliver a great patient experience for keeping their patients happy and making them come back. As it actually costs less to retain a patient than acquire a new one, focusing on patient retention matters more than ever. Also, developing effective patient relationships can help healthcare practitioners feel fulfilled at their work. Let’s take a look at how doctors can improve their patient experience across all the crucial touchpoints (i.e. before the visit, during the visit, and after the visit):
Your online presence is extremely crucial as it helps in making the first impression in front of your patients. While looking for a healthcare practitioner online, patients are likely to evaluate your website and online profiles to gain a sense of the experience that they’ll get from your practice. Â
In order to give the right idea of your practice to prospective patients, you should focus on including the photographs of your practice (the exterior as well as the interior) on your website. Moreover, a splendid online presence helps to provide consistent and direct information to the patients. Here’s a list of the pages that your website should include:Â
About page: This page can be used for stating the reasons why a patient should consider visiting your practice. This involves mentioning your experience and the approach that you follow in healthcare. Adding a crisp and thoughtful bio is a great idea as it helps patients gain a sense of your practice.Â
Location page: This is a page created for showcasing your locations with clear and informative content that provides data about that location, such as its name, address, contact number, guide map, etc.Â
Staff page: This page represents information about your staff and showcases their overall experience as well as qualifications. By including photographs of your staff and a personal note, this page lets you establish a good connection with the patients.
Services page: This page features all the services that you specialize in. It plays a key role in helping patients discover your brand for the different services you provide.
Empower your patients (both new as well as returning ones) with the ability to seamlessly schedule their appointments online. This functionality of offering online scheduling makes it easy to attract new patients. Moreover, 68% of customers prefer going to a doctor who lets them book, reschedule, or cancel their appointments online.
In today’s time where most patients are so busy in their professional lives, they really appreciate getting appointment reminders from the healthcare facilities. This shows that you’re respectful of not only their time but their money also, especially if you charge a cancellation fee. Sending a reminder via email or a call 3-4 days before a scheduled appointment can help to significantly improve the patient experience.
Every time a patient walks into your healthcare practice, they are likely to be greeted either by your front office or your intake staff. It’s imperative for them to be courteous and welcoming as their behavior can impact the overall experience of the patients.  Â
Everyone hates wasting their time in a waiting room, especially when they’re supposed to sit on dirty, uncomfortable furniture followed by absurd lighting. By offering your patients a clean and cozy waiting room, you can effortlessly alter your patients’ perceptions of your healthcare practice. Start by investing in comfortable furniture, using the right lighting to offer a welcoming & relaxed environment that your patients love. Â
Around 43% of patients consider waiting time to be the most annoying part when it comes to visiting a healthcare practitioner. While a small period of waiting time is acceptable, patients want themselves to be treated as quickly as possible. As 1 in 5 individuals switch their doctors because of indefinite long periods, reducing the waiting time is extremely essential for improving the patient experience.
Conducting a feedback survey can help to gather input from patients about your healthcare practice. Sending a survey after 5-7 days of a patient’s visit is the ideal time of reaching out to them as the experience is still fresh and on top of their mind. As patients do not participate in a survey on their own, sending a survey through emails or text can lead to higher response rates. Voxco lets you reach out to your patients through omnichannel healthcare surveys conducted online, via phone, or face-to-face. Â
Once you gain reviews from your patients about your healthcare practice, it’s important to promptly revert to their feedback. Be it Google reviews or the comments on your Instagram & Facebook handles, you should make sure that you get in touch with your patients and timely respond back. On receiving positive reviews, always thank them for their kind words. On getting negative feedback, reach out to them as soon as possible and discuss their specific issue in detail. This helps to boost the overall patients’ satisfaction.Â
Every patient expects thoughtful communication from the doctor he/she visits. Email offers a great way of engaging patients at the right touchpoints in their journey. With the help of an email, doctors can easily send reminders to their patients about the scheduled appointments, offer lucrative discounts on their dedicated services, inform patients about newly introduced services, etc. This helps to keep patients well engaged throughout their journey. Â
From creating a spectacular online presence to conducting powerful omnichannel patient satisfaction surveys, Voxco leaves no stone unturned for boosting patient experience across all crucial touchpoints. Get in touch with Voxco experts to elevate your patient experience today!Â
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