Patient Loyalty
Patient satisfaction is a unique and challenging aspect of the patient relationship to manage as it is impacted by so many things. The kind of quality that drives patient loyalty is not as simple as a measure of an objective fact. It is a measure of patient perception. When measuring patient satisfaction, the goal is to understand those factors that shape patient perceptions and how best to manage the variables that create those perceptions to a level that promotes not just satisfaction, but loyalty. The goal is to understand, protect and strengthen those variables in the patient/provider relationship that will keep the patient coming back and confidently telling others to migrate in the provider's direction.
Perceptions that drive loyalty change over time and within the moment based on the dynamics that are continuously playing out as the patient moves through their healthcare experiences. For example, a woman may be accepting of a twenty minutes wait in the emergency room for herself but that same woman may be very unaccepting of the same wait time if it is her three month-old child that is ill and running a fever of 104 degrees. Tolerance inside the healthcare system is a constantly changing dynamic and an effective patient satisfaction system helps to differentiate those subtle differences that a provider needs to know.
Patient loyalty is created when a patient's perception of the healthcare experience is exceptionally and consistently positive. Loyalty occurs when the experience consistently exceeds the patient's expectations and a high level of trust is established. When that level of trust exists, patients often become more accepting of minor variations as long as they don't come too often or negatively impact the quality of their lives.
Given all of the challenges that work against satisfaction and loyalty in today's market, loyalty is not something that a provider would want to leave to chance. It is something that should be managed inside the organization's quality program with the goal of driving satisfaction to a level that reaches beyond simple satisfaction and strives for loyalty.
Providers need to understand that perception is always stronger than fact when it comes to something as personal as satisfaction with a service that can have life or death consequences. This is especially true in an environment such as health care where people are placed at a disadvantage because of their lack of knowledge and their perceptions of limited control. Loyalty to a healthcare provider does not just happen; it is created.
Patient Satisfaction Blog
The debate over qualitative versus quantitative data is heating up in health care as providers look for ways to effectively measure and manage patient satisfaction in an increasingly competitive market place. The answer doesn’t live in choosing one or the other. It is found in learning how to marry the benefits of each in a [...]
Effective measurement of patient satisfaction is much more than just sending out surveys and aggregating results. When effectively woven into a quality program, it allows a provider a final opportunity to connect with the patient, determine what would foster patient loyalty in the future and catch those issues that have angered patients but slipped through [...]
Providers that manage patient satisfaction measurement as one more form of soft quality in today’s environment choose to increase their risk of ending up as a casualty along the highway to health care’s future. An activity falls into the category of “soft quality” when its design and implementation creates the perception of action without it [...]
The impact of a patient satisfaction measurement system is influenced by how important it is perceived to be by the patient.
An effective patient satisfaction system works to be responsive to the four major consumer groups.
An effective patient satisfaction system helps an organization to better understand those patient value propositions that are most important to the consumers of health care services.
An effective patient satisfaction system is proactively aligned with the changing needs and dynamics of the patient relationship.
Always build your surveys to support achieving the Ten Commandments of Patient Care.
Quality begins on the inside... and then works its way out. -- Bob Moawad
Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. -- Dale Carnegie
Aim at perfection in everything, though in most things it is unattainable. However, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable. -- Lord Chesterfield
Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. -- Andrew Carnegie
Change does not change tradition. It strengthens it. Change is a challenge and an opportunity; not a threat. -- Prince Phillip of England
