Patient Retention: 4 Important Considerations for Greater Patient Satisfaction (Part 1)
Posted on Wed, Nov 23, 2016
Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series.
While there is much debate concerning whether patients should be treated like consumers, it is clear that like consumers, patients often have choices regarding where to seek service. It will be in a hospital’s best interest to keep this in mind when it comes to choosing healthcare solutions for greater patient retention.
So, what are patients looking for? In Part 1 of this post, we’ll examine two key consumer concerns.
Price Transparency
In a recent Gallup poll, healthcare costs topped the list of U.S. families’ monetary concerns, with 15% listing this as their number one financial worry. Adding to their anxiety is confusion about medical bills and how much money they actually owe.
Research conducted by Public Agenda and Social Science Research Solutions, Inc. revealed that 64% of patients would find it helpful if healthcare staff could provide an estimate of how much their bill would be for services provided; and 56% have attempted to find out how much their out-of-pocket costs would be before receiving care. Fortunately, healthcare solutions like HealthWare Systems’ patient estimate tool can help you identify the potential out-of-pocket costs a patient may incur, providing patients with price transparency and increasing patient satisfaction with the billing procedures of your facility.
Additionally, it is important to ensure financial clearance for each patient before administering care, both for the patient’s and your facility’s own financial health. Financial assistance screening technology can also help you address the growing monetary concerns of your patients.
Corporate Social Responsibility
While cost is often a factor in buyers’ decision making, today’s consumers are just as concerned with an organization’s propensity for social good as with the personal price they will pay to use a product or service. In fact, 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for a brand they consider socially responsible, according to a report by The Nielsen Company.
Millennials are even more likely to make purchases with the issues they care about in mind; a Cone Communications study found that 91% of Millennials would switch brands for one associated with a cause. As the consumers of our economy’s future, addressing the demands of this group will only become more significant for healthcare organizations looking to improve patient satisfaction and patient retention.
One aspect of social responsibility that any hospital can pursue is that of sustainability. The Nielsen Company also reported that 58% of those willing to pay more for a socially responsible brand said they are influenced by how environmentally-friendly an organization may be.
Can your facility cut waste? How much paper do you throw out over the course of a week, a month, or a year? One solution is to implement an electronic healthcare forms system that can automate the selection, generation, and routing of forms wherever a patient presents and allows for form updates electronically and in real-time. By printing forms on-demand rather than stockpiling them, you’ll save on costs and avoid the waste of old versions of forms that can no longer be used due to new revisions.
In Part 2 of this topic, we’ll explore two more areas that healthcare consumers consider important and more healthcare solutions to help your facility meet these demands and improve patient satisfaction and patient retention.
