Patient Experience – Seriously?!
Dan PrinceAre senior health executives really committed to creating better customer experiences, or are they just saying what we all want to hear?
I just read a recent HealthLeaders Media study that says patient experience is among the top five priorities of senior health executives.
Given my latest experience with our current healthcare delivery model, I hope they get started soon!
My wife needed outpatient surgery on her hip. On the appointed day, we dutifully showed up at the local hospital at the unseemly hour of 5 a.m. for her scheduled 7 a.m. surgery. Following registration, we were taken to a private room, and she changed into one of those flimsy gowns that hospitals are famous for…except this one had holes in it. (what does that say about respect for a patient?)
And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, after numerous inquiries, we learned that our surgeon had switched the order of surgeries for the day. Finally, at 2 p.m. she was taken down for her one-hour surgery. Wouldn’t a little communication have been helpful?
We finally left the hospital after 7 p.m. that night, tired and with a less than positive impression of the hospital and the doctor.
Apparently, I’m not alone. Discontent with the current healthcare system is growing. A new study from Deloitte indicates that healthcare consumers want to be more engaged and gain greater control over their healthcare decisions. The Deloitte study finds:
• Nearly 40% of consumers rate the U.S. healthcare system a D or F
• A quarter of consumers have skipped care when they were sick or injured; two in five of them did so
because they simply could not afford it, were not covered by insurance or thought the costs were
too high
• Three in 10 switched medications in the past year; 38% switched to save money
• 53% of consumers would like employers to be required to provide health insurance for employees
• 37% favor a mandate requiring every American to obtain health insurance either through direct
purchase of through an employer or government program
• Seven in 10 say they would participate in a wellness program if they were given financial incentives,
such as reduced insurance premium or monetary reward
• 13% of consumers have visited a retail clinic this year and 30% said they would do so if it cost 50%
less than seeing a doctor in a doctor’s office
• 42% want access to an online personal health record connected to their doctor’s office
• 65% of consumers are interested in home monitoring devices that enable them to check their
condition and send the results to their doctor
Sounds like consumers know what they want, and many of them are demanding to be heard. So if you’re a healthcare provider or a health plan, you should probably be asking – do I know what my patients and/or customers want? Am I engaging them in a way that makes them want to tell others? Or are they unhappy and ready to tell anyone who will listen?
Consider these websites…all devoted to giving disgruntled customers a voice:
What are your customers saying about you?
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