You are a devoted and selfless healthcare entrepreneur who wants to establish or has already established a hospital which takes care of thousands of patients. You wish to make your patients healthcare journey as comfortable and safe as possible.  

If you are able to enhance ‘Patient experience’ in your hospital, you can garner great reviews, a fabulous publicity and long-lasting success, besides setting a benchmark in excellence.  

6 tips to improve patient experience 

1. Develop an amazing website 

In today’s day, when patients literally e-shop for hospitals on the web, your hospital’s website has to be immaculate because it is the first connect that your potential patients have with your hospital. Ensure that your website is interesting and informative so that it makes a good impression on your clients. See that your website is rich with simple-to-understand information regarding your services, facilities, panel of doctors, repute, know-how, etc. The website should be user-friendly and easy to surf.  

2. Minimize waiting times 

Waiting in queues is a boring task…waiting for anything, be it appointment procurement or consultation or discharge or insurance collection …can put patients off. Patients have hectic schedules and time is of essence for them.  You can enhance patient experience by minimizing delays and waiting times. Some ways of doing this 

• Telephonic appointment taking 

• Scheduling appointments in time-slots. 

• Separate counter for insurance papers submission and collection 

• Prior filing of Discharge documents  
• Go digital 

If the piles of hospital records including history, diagnostic reports, prescriptions, admission and discharge notes…all can be accessed with a  click on the personal mobiles of the patients; they will definitely be more satisfied because they will not have to keep track of piles of paperwork. Invest in digitalization of your hospital by choosing a good Hospital information system which will collate, and make information sharing, storage and retrieval easy and efficient without the risk of human error and breach of confidentiality.  

3. Brighten your interiors 

Hospitals are usually dull and dark places. Ill and worried patients feel worse if stuck in such a bleak environment. Convert your hospital into a healing space by adding an aura of ambience to your interiors. Choose soothing shades like pastel green, pale yellow, light blue  to don up your walls. Choose comfortable and sophisticated furniture for the waiting rooms. Ensure ventilation and sunlight with French windows and sun domes. Harness the power of nature to speed up recovery by the use of vertical gardens, landscape gardens and potted plants.  

4. Take safety measures 

Patients expect hospitals to be havens of safety. If you diligently initiate patient safety efforts, patient experience will definitely be enhanced,  

Some safety enhancement tips 

• Install filtration units and UV lamps for air purification.  
• Disinfect and sanitize the floors with regularity 
• Keep alcohol sanitizers and gloves at every bedside 

• Prominently display hand sanitizer kiosk so that everyone can carry out good hand hygiene practices. 
• Keep fire extinguishers and water hoses on every floor, in every wing.  
• Keep corridors clutter-free and clean 
• Invest in handrails, wheelchair ramps, bannisters, sensor lights etc. 
• Use signages for fire safety awareness, infection control awareness and  directions. 

5. Select a workforce who give service with a smile 

Your employees, both the medical staff and the non-technical staff are the faces of your hospital and they should not only be competent and capable but also compassionate and caring. Select your team well because they are the ones who will actually interact with your patients and be instrumental in nurturing patient experience. They should be high on the ability to handle stressful situations with patience and poise.  

To summarize, the over-all experience of your patients right from the time they surf  your website to the moment of discharge is termed as “Patient experience”. Patient experience can make or break your hospital because it can directly impact brand perception, reputation and success of your hospital.  

If you wish to score points on patient experience, you will have to enhance  patient at every step from start to finish, from admission to post-care. For aid in this, contact Hospertz, a leading healthcare consultancy firm of India. We can provide you with strategic solutions to enhance patient experience.  

Blog has been written by Dr. Vishal Jadhav, a veteran in the field of hospital consultancy with a rich experience of more than 20 years and founder of the Healthcare Consultancy Firm, Hospertz.

Dr. Vishal Jadhav, Director

hospertz@gmail.com
+91 9867712705/ 9820833149