Patients As Consumers: Is Healthcare Ready?

In recent years, “customer obsession” has undoubtedly taken over many industries by storm. One industry where it’s not such a popular phrase, however, is healthcare. Although healthcare organizations may not think of their patients as consumers, their patients do see themselves as consumers. With rising costs, after all, they expect more and more from their providers. And today’s patient engagement programs — and healthcare communications in general — should reflect that.

Patients as Consumers: Rising Costs, Common Complaints

Healthcare costs are rising for employers and individuals alike, yet many providers are still having financial troubles. Besides that, leaders cite government rules, a lack of staff, and patient satisfaction as some of their top concerns. Patients, meanwhile, care most about staff empathy, clean rooms, and of course, the outcome of their procedure or care.

Treating Patients as Consumers Is a Win-Win

While healthcare organizations hesitate to call their patients “customers,” the reality is, that’s what they are, Treating patients as consumers, though, doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’s not about thinking of patients as cash cows — rather, it’s about listening to them and offering a great experience. To do that, however, you must recognize and act on their feedback.

Most healthcare organizations, however, still use traditional surveys to track and monitor patient satisfaction metrics, putting them at a huge disadvantage in terms of identifying service recovery opportunities.

We make it easy for patients to provide real-time feedback — and even easier for healthcare leaders to improve service based on it. Our service recovery and performance tools help shift the focus onto patients as consumers and promote a culture of excellent service.

Interested in learning more about patients as consumers? Let’s talk.

Based in New York City, Quality Reviews®, Inc. was founded by leading healthcare providers and entrepreneurs with a total of 30-plus years of clinical, administrative, and tech experience. Quality Reviews®, Inc. builds proprietary software to help healthcare provider organizations capture and analyze real time patient feedback to enhance their patient engagement programs, facilitate service recovery, and improve healthcare communication.