health education | wellness

Category: Communication

  • Improving Patient Experience: Can We Learn from Disney?

    Improving Patient Experience: Can We Learn from Disney?

    Disney World, despite being an enormous facility that receives vast numbers of visitors every hour of the day, somehow manages to earn praise for superior customer service. About 70% of Disney customers are so pleased, in fact, that they return to the theme park for future vacations. When thinking about improving patient experience, providers can learn by observing how Disney handles its customers.

    improve patient experience

    Here are four of the top ideas that can guide healthcare professionals toward increased goodwill and better customer service evaluations.

    Frontline Resources

    Disney supports those who interact directly with customers with sufficient tools and technologies to solve problems and answer questions quickly and decisively. There is also direct access to managers and decision makers, so that if a frontline employee cannot resolve a problem or answer a question, they can find someone who can without unnecessary and frustrating delays.

    Courtesy

    All employees are trained to make courtesy a priority, regardless of how difficult a situation may be, in order to put customers at ease and ensure that they feel respected, listened to, and appreciated. Employees are also offered special customer service training, including role playing of various scenarios, so that they fully understand how to execute their responsibilities in a professional manner.

    impove patient experience

    Scripted Responses

    Everyone at Disney is on the same page, so that the brand message and image projected is reliably constant and consistent. Part of the reason that kind of continuity and teamwork is so effective is that employees have scripts they can follow when greeting customers, answering questions, resolving problems, or responding to emergency situations. Rather than feeling unprepared, they are already knowledgeable about what to say and how to respond, and they can then focus their energy and attention in a calm and poised way to ensure that the customer’s needs are met.

    Exit Success

    Disney also makes sure that exiting its facility is a smooth transition, even creating systems to help keep track of where people parked so that they don’t have trouble locating their cars. You may not need to help patients find their vehicles, of course, but the idea or philosophy represented by that story is that when customers have a good exit experience they leave with a good feeling. When improving patient experience, healthcare facilities should make the communication of final instructions, answering of questions, and filling out of exit paperwork as efficient and easy as possible.

  • How to Improve Your Bedside Manner

    How to Improve Your Bedside Manner

    While the majority of patients and their families appreciate the help and healing offered by healthcare providers, many also complain that the healthcare industry has become too impersonal and bureaucratic. They often cite historical references to the olden days when doctors were more personally acquainted with each patient, and report that nowadays they are not given enough one-on-one attention.

    Improve Your Bedside Manner

    Organizations have not only grown bigger, but technology has removed much of the human element in caregiver-to-patient interactions, as healthcare facilities strive to be more productive, efficient, and affordable.

    Steps to Improve Your Beside Manner

    There are steps you can take though, and here are four tips to improve your bedside manner that can make a real difference in how you are perceived by patients.

    1. Professional Can Also Be Friendly

    You need to maintain a professional demeanor, but that does not mean you cannot be warm and friendly. Greet the patient, make sure you pronounce their name correctly, and offer them energetic focus. Resist the urge to see them as a problem or puzzle to be solved before you move along to the next patient, and that extra effort will score lots of positive points.

    2. Nonverbal Communication Matters

    Improve Your Bedside Manner

    Do make eye contact and shake your patient’s hand. Don’t just stare at a chart, clipboard, or computer. Do stand up straight, smile, and try to sit at the same eye level as the person to whom you are talking. Don’t write, read, or look away while they are answering your questions.

    3. Let the Patient Explain the Problem

    Let the patient describe in their own words how they feel, what their symptoms are, how long they have felt that way, and why they came to see you. Oftentimes the patient will provide information or insights that you would otherwise miss, and that can be critically important. The tone they use and the words they choose can also be key indicators of their level of well-being or stress.

    4. Reassure Patients and Family Members

    You don’t have to make promises in order to offer reassurance. Let patients and family know they are in good hands and that you will do everything to help them and try to ensure their comfort. If you don’t verbalize that, they may not feel safe or secure, and a little reassurance can emotionally and psychologically aid in a faster recovery.