PATIENT SATISFACTION AND WHY IT MATTERS

Why It Matters  CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), hospitals and insurance providers are using patient satisfaction to help define and measure quality of health care.  Patient satisfaction is linked to better patient outcomes.  It is an important component of pay-for - performance metrics for hospitals.

 Employed physicians may have it included in their reimbursement metrics.  Patients and physicians can view the same episodes of care quite differently so, by asking patients about their care and treatment, physicians can get a complete picture. Why It Matters

Definition  It is the patient being satisfied or perceiving satisfaction with their health care.  Very multifaceted and very challenging outcome to define.  Patient expectations of care and their attitudes greatly contribute to satisfaction.  Patient satisfaction is personal.  It is the core of patient-centered care.

 Communication is the key to patient satisfaction.  Physicians and staff must acknowledge patient’s feelings and concerns and let them know they are being listened to.  Patient evaluate the quality of the service they receive easier than evaluating the quality of care they receive. The Key

 Physicians and staff must pay attention to both verbal and nonverbal language of their patients.  It is not only what is said, but how it is said Communication

 Patients need to feel that the physician and staff care and have their best interest at hand.  If the patient perceives poor patient service, it can result in poor patient satisfaction, the patient leaving without being seen, loss of revenue for the practice and reputation loss. Communication

 An average dissatisfied patient tells 25 others about the negative experience.  For every patient that complains, 20 other dissatisfied patients don’t complain.  90% of those that don’t complain won’t return.  It costs 10 times more to attract new patients that it does to retain current ones. Interaction

A patient interacts with multiple individuals during a visit:  Receptionist, medical assistant, lab, Nurse,  APN, physician, billing, etc.  These interactions can occur before, during and after a visit.  Just one poor exchange could turn a patient away and/or cause poor patient satisfaction.  Even a phone call before the first visit can set the tone.  Every contact with a patient or patient representative is important and should be treated as such. Interaction

 Patients expect to have a comfortable and warm interaction with a physician who appears to be technically competent and gives adequate information about the patient’s illness.  When expectations are not met, patients are less satisfied and less likely to comply with their medical regime. Patient Attitude

 The experience with the physicians staff is critical to a patient’s satisfaction with the overall experience.  Several studies demonstrate that patients have attitudes about three qualities of their encounter:  Personal qualities of the physician  Professional competence  Cost and convenience of services Patient Attitudes

Your practice should have procedures on how to handle the disruptive patient.  Take them out of the public environment.  Correct any misunderstandings.  Communicate with the patient what expectations will and will not be met. Disruptive Patients

 If you will not treat a certain type of patient or perform a procedure, tell the patient in a firm but friendly tone.  Let your patient know what to expect with non-compliance on any agreed upon treatment plan.  Keep yourself calm.  If necessary, terminate the patient. Disruptive Patients

 Have someone in the room with you.  Always follow up a verbal termination with a letter.  In the letter, allow 30 days of urgent care and necessary medication refills. You may exclude narcotics.  Call AMIC Risk Management.  Disruptive Patients

 Knock before entering room  Introduce yourself to patient and family  Sit down (if possible) to be at eye level  Maintain eye contact  Lean forward  Keep attention on patient Remember the Basics

 Keep the patient up-to-date  Tell them the plan and why  Let them know what to expect  Tell them how long their tests and imaging studies will take and how long before you have the results.  Treat the patient with courtesy and respect.  Listen During the Visit

 Identify customer service as one of the priorities.  Identify patient service issues and address them.  Keep promises  Protect patient confidentiality  Assess your culture of safety and risk Patient Experience Strategy

 Collect information from your patients about your customer service.  Improve service issues. Strategy