Patients can easily get frustrated and lose trust in the healthcare system, and this can negatively impact the quality of their care. That’s why many physicians prioritize patient experience. It’s not just about making the patient happy; better patient experiences may lead to improved healthcare and better outcomes.
A positive patient experience requires trust, clear communication and compassionate care, and physicians face obstacles that can prevent them from establishing all three. Here’s a dive into the aspects of patient experience, with real-world input from physicians on Sermo.
What is patient experience?
Patient experience includes the various ways that patients interact with doctors, nurses, hospital staff and every other aspect of the healthcare that they receive. Patient experience can also refer to the way they receive healthcare, such as the ease of scheduling an appointment or the respect a physician shows when talking to a patient.
Patient experience does not, however, refer to how the patient personally feels about the care they received, i.e., patient satisfaction, although the two concepts are closely linked. Instead, patient experience focuses on whether the key aspects of quality care were delivered. So, even if two patients were to receive identical care (the same patient experience), one might report high satisfaction if the length of their appointments aligned with their initial expectations, while another might have low satisfaction if they felt the appointments were too rushed.
Physicians face various challenges that can stand in the way of a positive patient experience. 67% of participants in an internal poll on Sermo said that administrative or documentation burdens were the biggest challenge, 58% said limited times for patient visits, and 49% cited high patient volume and staffing shortages (note: multiple responses were permitted, and some respondents selected multiple answers.)
While healthcare providers’ top priority is healing their patients, ensuring an excellent patient experience is a core part of delivering quality care.
What are the 4 P’s of patient experience?
Healthcare providers can follow the “four P’s” of patient experience to increase the quality of their care and attract more patients to their practices.
Proactive
Proactive care includes wellness checks, yearly mammograms, early interventions and other types of care that focus on prevention rather than reaction. Instead of waiting until an illness has progressed or an injury has occurred, patients receive care when they are well, so their healthcare providers can anticipate health issues before they happen. The hope is to improve patient experience, reduce medical costs and create more positive outcomes.
Personalized
The more personalized care a patient receives, the better experience they are likely to have. Research supports the idea that providing treatments that are personalized to a patient improves the likelihood of success. Customizing treatments means carefully analyzing the patient to learn more about them.
Predictive
Accurately predicting illness requires analytical tools and large amounts of data to study. Physicians can more easily accomplish this when collaborating with one another, sharing their insights and knowledge. An example of predictive care is when healthcare professionals monitor flu cycles to predict outbreaks, so they know when to encourage patient vaccinations. Predictive care improves patient experience because it works to prevent medical issues before they happen, reducing the amount of harm they cause.
Precise
Precise medical equipment, including the use of robotics, can treat a condition effectively while being less invasive. This can reduce recovery times and limit the amount of pain the patient experiences. Other examples of precision in healthcare include real-time data monitoring and medication that is dosed to a precise amount for maximum effectiveness and safety.
While the four P’s are a helpful mnemonic, they’re not a comprehensive representation of all the factors that can play into patient experience, like emotional support, communication quality, care coordination, and environment.
Why patient experience matters: 5 benefits for patients and physicians
Physicians following the four P’s of patient experience may soon notice that their own experience improves right along with their patient’s.
Increased patient satisfaction
Although patient experience and patient satisfaction are not the same thing, a better patient experience tends to increase the patient’s overall satisfaction with their care. When physicians are respectful and timely and healthcare facilities are clean and comfortable, patients feel as if they are receiving the care they deserve. This can lead to more patient referrals and positive practice reviews, which can ultimately benefit physicians.
Improved patient compliance
Clear communication from a healthcare provider allows patients to better understand their condition, treatment, and what they are advised to do to take care of themselves at home. When patients are treated in a respectful way, they are empowered and typically comply better with their provider’s instructions.
Enhanced patient safety
Clear communication and collaboration between the physician and the patient contrbites to a better patient experience and leads to enhanced clinical safety. Miscommunication in a healthcare context can be dangerous, when it results in incorrect treatments, procedures and medication dosages. When a patient feels like they are being heard and respected, they are more likely to speak openly with their provider.
Lower cost of care
Research shows that better patient experiences can lead to higher patient volumes, more revenue, and lower costs. A better patient experience can also reduce the amount of times a patient has to be seen, thereby lowering their cost of care. Even when they do receive further care, a solid relationship between provider and patient helps optimize the experience, leading to faster, more accurate results.
Improved staff experience
Physicians and staff benefit from better patient experience because it improves the overall mood during visits, boosting confidence and morale and creating a better work environment. When the patient is satisfied, compliant, and safe, staff’s tasks become streamlined and more effective, so they can accomplish more in less time. It can also improve overall communication and social connections within clinical teams, leading to less stress and burnout in the workplace.
Important pain points in patient experience and how to address them
As mentioned, certain obstacles can prevent physicians from providing the best possible patient experience. While physicians can address certain pain points directly, others they can only acknowledge or address indirectly. In an internal poll on Sermo, physicians indicated that the following areas of patient experience need the most improvement:
Challenges physicians can actively improve:
These challenges occur within the physician’s direct care and can be actively addressed to improve the patient experience:
1. Communication and transparency with the patient
By making a conscious effort to follow the four P’s of patient experience, physicians can directly improve their own communication and transparency with the patient. They can also train their staff on effective communication and form feedback loops so patients are able to reach out when necessary and report their condition in a timely manner. 33% of poll respondents thought communication and transparency is an element of patient experience that’s in need of improvement.
2. Personalization of the patient’s care
Patients are increasingly seeking care that reflects a more tailored approach rather than one-size-fits-all recommendations. Physicians can directly address this by considering each patient as an individual and incorporating precision medicine to inform treatment decisions. 22% of poll respondents on Sermo called for better personalization of patient care as a method of improving patient experience.
3. Diagnostics and reports
Accurate diagnosis and medical reports can help ensure patient safety and better outcomes. Physicians can improve the patient experience and their own efficiency by ensuring to record accurate information and leveraging the technological tools available to them to do so, such as EHR systems and AI scribes.
4. Recovery and monitoring
37% of poll respondents voted for recovery and monitoring as an opportunity for improvement in patient experience. In the ideal world, physicians could use real time data, such as those collected by wearable devices, to monitor a patient’s recovery time or chronic condition. However, monitoring often relies on patient feedback and communication, and remote monitoring technology may not be accessible for all patients. Physicians can address this by prioritizing timely patient check-ins, encouraging open patient communication, and exploring which options may work best for their patient’s needs.
5. Poor patient follow-up practices
Effective aftercare encourages a patient to stay involved and builds trust between physician and patient. Addressing poor patient follow-up practices, for example by creating structured aftercare routines or scheduling regular follow-up visits in advance, is one way to improve the patient experience.
Challenges physicians can only influence:
These challenges often occur in parts of the healthcare journey beyond the physician’s direct care, and thus can be acknowledged but may not be within the physician’s control:
6. Long wait times
Long wait times was a commonly cited issue in the Sermo poll, capturing 53% of respondent votes. Long waits can make patients feel frustrated and erode their trust in the healthcare system. When physicians and staff analyze the reasons for lengthy wait times and advocate for the use of advanced scheduling tools to solve the problem, it can reduce patient stress.
7. Patient scheduling
Similarly, automated systems, such as patient portals or online booking, can improve patient scheduling, reducing errors and allowing physicians to focus on care rather than logistics. Physicians can’t always own the process, but can encourage regular feedback from patients on the ease of scheduling an appointment to identify ways to improve patient flow.
8. Frustration with billing and payments
Billing, insurance, and payments was the most common response in the Sermo poll, accounting for 58% of respondents. Errors in billing and payment collection can greatly increase patient frustration. Strategies to avoid billing errors may include investing in online portals that are intuitive and convenient, recommending a provider who can give financial counseling so patients can better understand their financial situation or advocating for clearer billing statements that reduce confusion.
9. Lack of feedback mechanisms
Patients should be able to easily share their experience with the healthcare system, and a lack of feedback mechanisms can dissolve trust between a physician and patient. While some feedback may come from data and analytics, other feedback may come directly from the patient in a phone call or on a patient satisfaction survey. The feedback can help physicians to better understand what patients value during their healthcare experience and where the quality of care was lacking.
Join physicians from around the world who are making an effort to improve patient experience
Patient experience encompasses every aspect of a patients’ interactions with physicians, hospital staff, and the rest of the healthcare system. Doctors can solve some obstacles to a positive patient experience directly, including adopting a more personalized approach or practicing effective communication techniques. Other issues, such as long wait times, can only be addressed indirectly.
Thankfully, you do not have to reinvent the wheel to improve patient experience, and can learn from the experiences of other physicians. Collaborate with over 1 million physician members on Sermo, a global network where you can learn from peers and share your own insights and advice.
