Key Takeaways
- Warmth and empathy from healthcare providers are huge satisfaction drivers for patients after hospital visits and medical care.
- Excellent customer service in healthcare directly influences patient trust, safety and treatment outcomes while reducing stress during vulnerable moments.
- Simplifying healthcare processes removes unnecessary steps, reduces costs and improves experiences for patients and staff.
- Strong customer service protects hospital reputation, builds trust and creates rapport that encourages patients to return and directly impacts clinical outcomes.
- Aligning staff incentives around demonstrated empathy, active listening and patient feedback creates a culture where treating patients well becomes the central mission.
Why Is Customer Service Important in Healthcare?
Customer service in healthcare directly influences patient trust, safety and overall experience. Patients who feel understood and respected communicate more honestly with providers, follow medical advice more consistently and return for future hospital care more frequently. Excellent service reduces stress and confusion, which is especially important during emotional and vulnerable times for patients.
Strong customer service strengthens the relationship between patients and healthcare teams. This leads to better treatment outcomes and produces higher patient satisfaction scores. Great customer service builds confidence in care quality. It supports both patient well-being and organizational success.
How Does Education Play a Role in Better Patient Care?
Some higher education institutions are doing their part to improve patient satisfaction and experience in health care.
The University of Central Florida offers an online master’s program in healthcare systems engineering. This program prepares professionals to implement massive, systemwide changes. These professionals ensure careful attention to high-quality design of systems, processes and products.
This attention helps create a customer-friendlier space. Both patients and providers benefit going forward.
What’s the Current State of Patient Satisfaction in the Healthcare Industry?
Too many healthcare providers and institutions lag behind on prioritizing customer service and patient satisfaction. The opportunities for better health that are lost because of this fact are incalculable.
Healthcare providers see test results and numbers related to medical care. They are not used to being ranked on matters such as active listening and overall patient feedback.
“If high-quality service had a greater presence in our practices and institutions,” write the authors of “Service Quality in Health Care,” a paper published in Policy Perspectives, “it would improve clinical outcomes and patient and physician satisfaction while reducing cost, and it would create a competitive advantage for those who are experts in its application.”
How To Improve Customer Service in Healthcare
Healthcare institutions can improve customer service and achieve better outcomes for patients. Here are a few good places to start:
Make Healthcare Processes Simpler for Patients
Byzantine healthcare processes make life more stressful for patients. Confusing signage creates frustration, healthcare provider mobile apps confuse users and inscrutable invoicing systems add anxiety. Most patients already have more than enough reason to feel anxious when receiving medical care.
Healthcare providers can learn from companies that create streamlined technology interfaces. They can study accessible customer service departments. These lessons provide a better overall experience for those seeking medical solutions.
Applying these lessons removes pointless steps, reduces costs and makes the process easier for both patients and staff.
Align Staff Incentives, Support and Resources Around Excellent Customer Service
Healthcare personnel should immediately learn that treating patients well is the central mission. Organizations must provide the support, resources and training staff need to accomplish that mission.
This means several things:
- Healthcare organizations recognize and incentivize providers based on demonstrated empathy with patients, not just efficiency.
- Patients report on their customer service experiences within the organization.
- Personnel receive the time, space and support they need to process and recover from traumatic experiences and compassion fatigue.
With UCF’s Executive Master of Healthcare Administration program, you can build a strong foundation in leadership skills. Focused on staff development and culture, you’ll be equipped to support a customer-friendly healthcare team.
Look for Worthy Models — Both Within and Outside of Healthcare
Hospitals and healthcare service providers need help making the shift to a more customer service-focused care model. They need inspiration from external sources.
Organizations should partner with other hospitals. They should connect with businesses in the hospitality and customer service industries. These partnerships enable idea sharing, encouragement and advice.
Top 3 Benefits of Good Customer Service in Healthcare
1. Patient Satisfaction
Patient satisfaction directly impacts clinical outcomes and overall health. It’s not simply about making people feel good.
Patients who feel heard, respected and cared for follow treatment plans more consistently. They attend follow-up appointments more reliably. They communicate openly with their providers.
Higher patient satisfaction scores correlate with better recovery rates, fewer complications and reduced hospital readmission rates.
2. Reputation Management
Hospitals and healthcare providers are in a vulnerable position. They serve patients during some of the most stressful moments in their lives.
Healthcare staff responses during these critical times directly shape the organization’s reputation in the community. Strong customer service protects and enhances reputation, generates positive word-of-mouth, produces favorable online reviews and creates strong patient referrals.
3. Trust and Rapport
Patients with good experiences in the health care industry return for further medical care more frequently. Building trust and rapport with customers prevents them from searching for alternative healthcare providers. They know where to receive great patient care with high-quality customer service. This ongoing relationship improves patient satisfaction over time since familiarity breeds comfort and confidence in the care team.
What Is an Example of Good Customer Service in Healthcare?
A strong example occurs when a hospital creates a seamless, compassionate experience. This experience spans from initial appointment booking to follow-up care.
Consider a nurse who takes time to explain procedures clearly. She checks in on a patient’s comfort level and follows up after discharge. This demonstrates empathy and professionalism.
These patient-centered improvements make the patient feel valued. They encourage adherence to medical advice, resulting in improved health outcomes.
The Bottom Line
A strong focus on customer service and authentic hospitality within hospitals sounds like a nice-to-have change. It’s much more serious than that. It’s a matter of good health. In some cases, it’s a matter of life or death.
Medical care isn’t only about the overall course of treatment. It starts with the appointment scheduling. It includes inputting patient information correctly. It requires practicing active listening. It demands providing unparalleled customer service to people who are already feeling vulnerable and anxious.
It’s time for the healthcare industry to get serious about bringing more hospitality into hospitals. Learn how to improve your organization’s customer service and patient experiences with UCF healthcare programs. Whether you’re a nurse, on the administrative team or the engineering team, everyone plays their part in patient satisfaction.