Positive patient experience will result in better loyalty and higher turnover
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5th June 2019Positive patient experience will result in better loyalty and higher turnover
Patient satisfaction is so important today, with the rise of medical costs and medical insurance premiums. As result patients are becoming more personally involved in their healthcare decisions to ensure that they receive the most value for their money. Most often this involves directly comparing services and prices from various healthcare providers. As a result leading optometry practices are growing profitability by not cutting costs, but by improving patient experience and satisfaction.
The patient experience represents a critical component of the ability to attract new patients and increases patient retention. When patients form positive relationships and begin to trust the provider, they become more engaged in their own care and develop a stronger sense of loyalty to the practice. One way of allowing the patient to become involved in their eye care is allowing them to make their own online appointment booking using appointment software. This allows the patient the freedom of choosing a time convenient for them to schedule the appointment. Understanding and striving towards improving patient experience is critical.
Enhancing patient experience positively impacts your practice. This can be done by using the latest technology when testing such as digital acuity software; this exposes the patient to the newest technology in the optometry field and giving an excellent overall impression of the practice brand style. Another avenue creating a positive patient experience is making use of a patient emailing service that informs the patient about their specific eye conditions. This not only tells the patient about their eye condition but also what products are best suited to treat their particular condition. When patients understand what they are paying for they tend to spend more in practice leading to higher turnover. Clients that are informed feel more empowered and have a higher sense of customer satisfaction which leads to higher patient retention. Ultimately you want the customer to share their good patient experience; one of these methods is through customer reviews.
Patient reviews are one of the greatest online influencers in the healthcare industry. Findings from Software Advice showed that 72 percent of patients used reviews as the first step when finding a new practitioner. Monitoring reviews are just one facet of the patient experience approach. One should also make an effort to respond to these reviews to show you have seen and care about the feedback and that you are engaging with the patients.
A positive patient experience will lead to loyal patients who will recommend their eye care practitioner to family and friends, providing the practise with all the associated benefits.
