When measuring the patient experience, it’s important not only to examine the doctor-patient relationship and interactions with clinical staff, but also where it all begins: at reception.
Although front desk staff aren’t treating patients, their role in the patient experience is critical. It’s so important, in fact, that a patient may switch doctors simply because of a negative interaction during check-in. Concerns with reception may also lead to negative online reviews and may even
increase the risk of malpractice suits.
Reception and the patient experience
There are four ways in which reception at your practice has a significant impact on the patient experience.
Reception is the patient’s first impression of your practice
Check-in sets the tone for the patient’s entire visit. The prompt greeting and nonverbal communication of the front desk staff are vital to conveying value to the patient. This is the first opportunity to make the patient feel like their needs come first.
During check-in, the patient may also form opinions about the efficiency and professionalism of your practice. This first impression is difficult to negate, even if the patient is extremely satisfied with their provider.
Reception is a hotspot for privacy concerns
Discussing patient information too loudly or in too public of an area may cause privacy concerns. If a patient feels like their privacy is violated during check-in, they may continue to worry about privacy throughout their visit and during their time with the provider. Respecting privacy at the front desk demonstrates the level of commitment your practice as a whole has toward privacy and security.
Reception impacts patient perceptions of wait times
Though a long wait time may not be the fault of the front desk staff, patients often perceive excessive wait times to be related to reception. Front desk staff can help to ease wait time frustrations by greeting patients promptly at check-in and providing regular updates when wait times are high.
Reception affects perceived access to care
When a patient can’t reach someone by phone to schedule an appointment or is given incorrect information about an appointment, they consider these concerns when rating their overall experience. If another practice is more accessible, they may choose to leave.
What can you do?
These five simple best practices can go a long way in improving the patient’s experience during check-in.
- Greet the patient promptly with a smile when they approach the check-in area; if all staff are with other patients, acknowledge each patient who enters and explain they will be helped as soon as possible
- Speak softly when discussing the patient’s personal information
- Use warm nonverbal communication: smile, maintain eye contact, and speak with a gentle tone of voice
- Display empathy toward the patient; remember they are in a vulnerable position
- Check in with the patient and provide updates when wait times are longer than expected
The Reception question group on the Standard Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (SPSQ) gives you insights into your patients’ attitudes toward your front desk staff. Dive even deeper with comment sentiment analysis to learn about specific pain points for your patients.
The Improvement Center also contains a variety of resources targeted toward Reception best practices.
Hope McCain February 12th, 2021 Categories: Best Practices, Outpatient Practice, Patient Experience
Tags:
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A common concern expressed by patients is the communication of test results. Many medical practices have turned to patient portals to alleviate these concerns. Patient portals are now responsible for communicating with many of the 1-2 million patients being tested for COVID-19 every day in the US. The patient portal can be a great tool when it is used with the patients’ best interests in mind.
Using our comment analysis tools, we identified the most common concerns expressed by patients in regards to portal test results. Here are the biggest challenges and best practices to maximize the benefits of communicating test results to patients.
Patients don’t know how to use the portal
Your patients may not know how to access or log into your patient portal, or they may not know how to navigate it to find their test results. At the time of the visit, it’s important to provide the patient with clear, detailed instructions for accessing and using the portal.
If feasible, consider inviting the patient to set up their portal account during their visit so you can assist with any questions that arise. Offering instruction cards or flyers might aid in suggesting portal account setup to your patients.
Expectations are not met
It’s important to set and meet expectations when it comes to communicating test results via the patient portal.
First, ensure your patient knows their test results will be uploaded to the portal. If the patient assumes they will be receiving a phone call, they may not think to check online.
Next, give the patient a realistic timeframe for uploading their results. A common complaint from patients in regards to online test results is that they are not uploaded as promptly as they had expected.
A recent survey found that viewing test results is among the top reasons patients utilize the portal in the first place. When the patient doesn’t see their test results online within an expected timeframe, this could lower their confidence in the reliability of the patient portal.
Finally, be consistent when uploading test results to the portal. If the patient finds their test results on the portal in some instances and not others, they may discontinue use of the portal for this purpose altogether.
The portal is your only method of communication
The portal is a great tool for communicating test results in a more timely manner. It is possible the patient will need help interpreting the results or will have questions about next steps and treatment. It’s important to follow up with the patient verbally or to provide clear next steps and information about who they can reach out to with questions.
If you are communicating test results via a portal, take the time to understand what is working and what isn’t. Run a report with the Report Builder in your SurveyVitals portal and search the comments for terms such as ‘portal’ or ‘test results’ to gather key patient insights. You can also add addendum questions to your surveys for further insights; reach out to your Client Success Manager for more information.
Interested to learn more about SurveyVitals? Request more information
here.
Hope McCain February 1st, 2021 Categories: Best Practices, COVID-19, Outpatient Practice, Patient Experience
Tags:
best practices,
comment analysis,
communication,
Improvement,
outpatient,
patient comments,
patient experience,
patient portal,
Patient Satisfaction,
quality improvement,
sentiment analysis,
test results
Test Results via the Patient Portal: Best Practices
Patients don’t know how to use the portal
Expectations are not met
The portal is your only method of communication
Hope McCain February 1st, 2021 Categories: Best Practices, COVID-19, Outpatient Practice, Patient Experience
Tags: best practices, comment analysis, communication, Improvement, outpatient, patient comments, patient experience, patient portal, Patient Satisfaction, quality improvement, sentiment analysis, test results