10/04/2019
Do you want to improve the experience in your hospital or clinic?
We analyze healthcare industry throughout the study realized by IDIS about patient experience at private healthcare centres
Patient Experience (PX) is a key factor to consider within the management strategy of any hospital, clinic or medical center. When patients are happy, they tend to be more optimistic and such attitude positively impacts their health. As a result, they communicate better with the medical staff, they follow the instructions more precisely and are more actively involved in their treatment, which contributes to their physical recovery.
This point of view is supported by the first industry report on patient experience in Spain private healthcare: “Patient Experience. The First Study in Spanish Private Healthcare industry” , carried out by professionals from the Institute for Health Development and Integration (IDIS) and with the collaboration of Lukkap Customer Experience.
Additionally, RateNow participated as technology partner to HOSPEA, the annual healthcare workshop that took place on March 26 and 27 in Valencia. During the event we sat with some of the leading industry experts and discussed the most urgent needs of hospitals and health centers.
In this post, we write about the importance of the patient's experience throughout the entire healthcare process and its direct impact on their wellbeing.
The evolution of the healthcare industry
As medicine treatments are becoming more and more personalized, such trend has also changed the relationships between patients and the medical staff.
In addition, the environment is also opening up to a new concept of patient experience; according to the study “The state of patient experience 2017: a return to purpose” publicado en 2017 por Beryl Insitute, 56% of hospitals worldwide have begun to implement the concept in their strategies and 26% consider it as a key factor of the center's culture.
The way patients are treated and their general experience should not be just one more KPI to look at, but should be considered and analyzed as part of the strategy and management of any health center or organization; similarly,credibility,patient’s trustandreputationshould be clear objectives to achieve.
In the Spanish healthcare system both public centers and private insurance companies coexist. On one hand, private healthcare has increased its patients by more than 5% - approximately 500,000 people - compared to the previous year; on the other hand, patients choose private institutions for the better service offered, the comfort of the facilities and doctors’ availability.
The study mentioned above, “Patient Experience. The First Study in Spanish Private Healthcare industry” details thekey drivers of patient experience in private health from the very first to the last contact between patients and the healthcare center. Apart from measuring the overall satisfaction, we also aim to identify the percentage of cases the experience actually meets patient expectations.
Then, we’ll go through the key points of the study and will explainhow to improve the experience of patients in your hospital or clinic.
1. Get to know the Patient Journey: start from the patient to reach the patient
To measure the experience we must know the entire process that our patients follow, the well-known patient journey (viaje del paciente). To do aim, keep in mind these 4 steps:
A) UNDERSTAND THE EXPECTATIONS
The patient journey begins with the patient's expectation, what they expect from private healthcare and what makes them hire your service.
B) HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE PX
Know the emotions of patients in health centers to understand their concerns and fears along the process.
C) KNOW WHERE AND HOW TO ACT
Detect and boost your strengths and identify critical points of the journey to understand where the expectations are not met.
D) STRATEGY: TAKE ACTION
Implement corrective actions to improve the KPI’s of patients’ satisfaction and increase the number of happy patients.
The study is based on a patient's journey composed of five stages: access to the system, emergencies, diagnostic tests, consultation and hospitalization. More specifically, for each of the 5 phases we studied when the WOW experience is fulfilled. You might be wondering... What is the WOW experience and how can we identify it?
This point of view is supported by the first industry report on patient experience in Spain private healthcare: “Patient Experience. The First Study in Spanish Private Healthcare industry” , carried out by professionals from the Institute for Health Development and Integration (IDIS) and with the collaboration of Lukkap Customer Experience.
Additionally, RateNow participated as technology partner to HOSPEA, the annual healthcare workshop that took place on March 26 and 27 in Valencia. During the event we sat with some of the leading industry experts and discussed the most urgent needs of hospitals and health centers.
In this post, we write about the importance of the patient's experience throughout the entire healthcare process and its direct impact on their wellbeing.
The evolution of the healthcare industry
As medicine treatments are becoming more and more personalized, such trend has also changed the relationships between patients and the medical staff.
In addition, the environment is also opening up to a new concept of patient experience; according to the study “The state of patient experience 2017: a return to purpose” publicado en 2017 por Beryl Insitute, 56% of hospitals worldwide have begun to implement the concept in their strategies and 26% consider it as a key factor of the center's culture.
The way patients are treated and their general experience should not be just one more KPI to look at, but should be considered and analyzed as part of the strategy and management of any health center or organization; similarly,credibility,patient’s trustandreputationshould be clear objectives to achieve.
In the Spanish healthcare system both public centers and private insurance companies coexist. On one hand, private healthcare has increased its patients by more than 5% - approximately 500,000 people - compared to the previous year; on the other hand, patients choose private institutions for the better service offered, the comfort of the facilities and doctors’ availability.
The study mentioned above, “Patient Experience. The First Study in Spanish Private Healthcare industry” details thekey drivers of patient experience in private health from the very first to the last contact between patients and the healthcare center. Apart from measuring the overall satisfaction, we also aim to identify the percentage of cases the experience actually meets patient expectations.
Then, we’ll go through the key points of the study and will explainhow to improve the experience of patients in your hospital or clinic.
1. Get to know the Patient Journey: start from the patient to reach the patient
To measure the experience we must know the entire process that our patients follow, the well-known patient journey (viaje del paciente). To do aim, keep in mind these 4 steps:
A) UNDERSTAND THE EXPECTATIONS
The patient journey begins with the patient's expectation, what they expect from private healthcare and what makes them hire your service.
B) HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE PX
Know the emotions of patients in health centers to understand their concerns and fears along the process.
C) KNOW WHERE AND HOW TO ACT
Detect and boost your strengths and identify critical points of the journey to understand where the expectations are not met.
D) STRATEGY: TAKE ACTION
Implement corrective actions to improve the KPI’s of patients’ satisfaction and increase the number of happy patients.
The study is based on a patient's journey composed of five stages: access to the system, emergencies, diagnostic tests, consultation and hospitalization. More specifically, for each of the 5 phases we studied when the WOW experience is fulfilled. You might be wondering... What is the WOW experience and how can we identify it?
2. Achieve the WOW experience
WOW Experience is nothing more than the expected and desired ideal experience that the patient wants to have. It is an indicator from 0% to 100% to rate the experience:
The results of the study show that inthe private healthcare industry the ideal level of experience (WOW) is 79%, positioning it as the leading industry compared to other such as retail fashion, food, leisure, banking...).
It is equally important to take into account the methodology used to analyze the experience of patients. With quality and patient satisfaction surveys carried out in the center itself and asking questions like“how likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or partner?” (NPS) or "how would you rate the hospital's emergency department?", you can obtain very important data in order to detect opportunities for improvement and implement changes.
For example, the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital , a reference in Spain carries out quality surveys at different points of the hospital (Emergencies, Medical Consultations...) to know the degree of satisfaction with the experience, starting from the moment the patient enters the hospital till they leave. Metrics such as the Net Promoter Score (NPS) allow to know the probability of recommendation of the hospital or service to the closest circle of family and friends (if you want to know more, please click here NPS!)
Conclusions of the study
What arises from the study is thatthe scope of patient experience is not static, but rather the opposite: it is a constantly evolving environment that must be adapted in order to provide the best possible patient experience.
The main conclusions of the study are the following:
Even though the patient experience presents many challenges, you have the tools to start improving immediately: automating the opinion collection process with feedback terminals such as RateNow in the healthcare centers and hospitals allowsto save resources in the management of quality surveys.
At the same time, you can analyze in real time the satisfaction and the experience of your patients while improving the image of the center.
WOW Experience is nothing more than the expected and desired ideal experience that the patient wants to have. It is an indicator from 0% to 100% to rate the experience:
- Above 90% it can be considered as a WOW experience, one that surprises and satisfies the patient.
- Between 60% and 90% you have an OK experience, which is acceptable for the patient.
- Below 60%, you have an OUCH experience, generating dissatisfaction and disappointment for the patient.
The results of the study show that inthe private healthcare industry the ideal level of experience (WOW) is 79%, positioning it as the leading industry compared to other such as retail fashion, food, leisure, banking...).
It is equally important to take into account the methodology used to analyze the experience of patients. With quality and patient satisfaction surveys carried out in the center itself and asking questions like“how likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or partner?” (NPS) or "how would you rate the hospital's emergency department?", you can obtain very important data in order to detect opportunities for improvement and implement changes.
For example, the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital , a reference in Spain carries out quality surveys at different points of the hospital (Emergencies, Medical Consultations...) to know the degree of satisfaction with the experience, starting from the moment the patient enters the hospital till they leave. Metrics such as the Net Promoter Score (NPS) allow to know the probability of recommendation of the hospital or service to the closest circle of family and friends (if you want to know more, please click here NPS!)
Conclusions of the study
What arises from the study is thatthe scope of patient experience is not static, but rather the opposite: it is a constantly evolving environment that must be adapted in order to provide the best possible patient experience.
The main conclusions of the study are the following:
- Quality and safety in healthcare centers are not enough for the patient. These parameters have to be more than guaranteed;however, patients also expect to be heard and understoodthroughout the process and their concerns and fears to be well taken care of.
- El empowerment of the patient places the patient at the core of the healthcare system.
- Incorporar new tools and communication channels with the patient offered by the digital transformation.
- Involve all process agents and staff involved in the relationship with patients if you want to grant a WOW experience.
Even though the patient experience presents many challenges, you have the tools to start improving immediately: automating the opinion collection process with feedback terminals such as RateNow in the healthcare centers and hospitals allowsto save resources in the management of quality surveys.
At the same time, you can analyze in real time the satisfaction and the experience of your patients while improving the image of the center.
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