Patient Engagement Best Strategies to Follow in 2022
The patient experience is quickly taking center stage within healthcare. It’s vital to start encouraging patient engagement within your healthcare facility. You want them to not only visit your facility but to invest the time and resources in themselves to maintain their overall health. The power of a positive patient experience goes a long way in both the patient’s eyes and in the overall success of your organization.
To encourage patient engagement, you must foster a positive patient experience throughout your entire healthcare brand. Whether it be how a patient is greeted, to wait times, to clinician demeanor during the course of treatment, it all matters.
The Importance of a Positive Patient Experience
When your patients feel their experience was worthwhile, they are more likely to actively participate in patient engagement. Patients who feel they had a good experience will be more inclined to leave positive patient feedback, which can significantly boost:
- Your overall reputation: Happy patients leave positive patient feedback, which new customers take into consideration before choosing a new provider.
- Your revenue: Happy patients will continue to visit your facility, and they are likely to suggest your practice to their loved ones.
Alternatively, patients who have a negative experience are likely to voice their concerns across multiple mediums if they don’t feel heard. That is why it’s so important today to be able to foster a positive experience. Essentially, your brand’s success within a community is predicated upon how you effectively engage with patients everyday.
3 Best Practices to Improve Patient Engagement
These best patient engagement strategies are essential to building trust between you and your patients. From there, a patient is more likely to take an active role in their overall health and wellbeing. It’s tough for any leader to admit that their facility falls short on the patient engagement front. However, these principles work and will continue to be a cornerstone for best practices.
1. Convenience
One frustrating part of seeking out medical care or advice is that many people find contacting their doctor or office to be a hassle.
The patient expects medical professionals to not only anticipate their needs but accommodate them promptly. If you aren’t providing convenience, then patients aren’t likely to turn to engage any further.
Prioritizing convenience is essential to patient engagement. Make sure you are accessible and taking the time to really listen to their concerns. When they feel you are making the process simpler, they are more likely to trust you and engage accordingly.
2. Empathy
As with any other industry, your patients view your relationship with them as just that – a relationship. When you treat them with respect, you see that your patients are more likely to participate in patient engagement.
However, once you start treating them like a number or a paycheck, they will start to devalue any relationship you’ve fostered with them, and in turn, take their business elsewhere.
3. Insight/Connectivity
Thanks to the internet, your clients are more interconnected than ever before. That means they are more open to building a larger sense of community and are turning to that community for help and advice. Did you know that nearly 84% of consumers say that they turn to and trust online reviews just as much as a personal recommendation from someone they are close with?
By fostering a positive patient experience, healthcare professionals have the opportunity to nurture their relationship with patients. Use these opportunities to collect valuable feedback and let that feedback further patient engagement within your healthcare facility.
Take the Time to Foster Patient Engagement and a Positive Experience
When working in the healthcare industry, taking the time to foster positive patient engagement is essential. One of the best ways to do this is by providing them with a positive experience worth feeling good about and sharing.
Not sure where to start? Collecting and reviewing patient feedback is the most effective way to see what your clients are thinking. From there, you’ll be better equipped to create solutions that will encourage long-term patient engagement.
