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Patient satisfaction: Why it’s important and how to measure it?

In this day and age we get asked for feedback all the time, everywhere. In the healthcare sector, patient satisfaction has become a very important factor in healthcare services growth and success. 

Patient-centered care is a holistic approach to healthcare that puts the patients’ needs and satisfaction as the guide in the provision of healthcare services. This model has proven to not just improve health outcomes and the quality of services provided but also be a very financially successful model for healthcare facilities. A study on a patient-centered inpatient unit demonstrated a statistically lower cost per case than a control unit which did not use a patient-centered approach.

Prioritizing patient satisfaction is a strong motivating factor in improving patient loyalty and subsequently increasing patient retention. Studies have shown that 94% of patients who have reported high levels of satisfaction with the healthcare services they received said they were likely to return to the same healthcare facility for their future healthcare needs. Not just that but 95% of patients who were satisfied with the healthcare services they received reported that they are likely to recommend the healthcare facility to others. 

How is patient satisfaction measured?

Using patient satisfaction as a metric for improving and growing a medical practice is imperative. Patient feedback tools are essential to be able to communicate with patients in a way that allows healthcare providers to learn about their patient experience and ensure they are satisfied with the quality of the services they are receiving. Knowing the different types of ways patients communicate their views about services is very important when developing a feedback tool.

Patients may communicate that in 3 ways:

A. Internal Feedback

Patients can be asked about their experience directly by the healthcare providers after they receive services. This helps managers evaluate the quality of the services and identify areas of needed improvements.

Internal Feedback is by nature:

  1. Solicited: It is directly asked for by the service providers.
  2. Part of the service chain: It has a time and place in the service provision pathway and needs to be an integral part of the service process.
  3. Needs to be short, user-friendly, enjoyable to prevent survey fatigue.

B. Complaints

When patients are dissatisfied with the services this directly affects their behavior. A negative experience will lower patient retention and loyalty. A negative experience may also find its way to online platforms and affect the general reputation of service providers. To avoid that, service providers need to put in place accessible and inviting tools that enable customers to voice their complaints. This is critical as studies have shown that only around 5% of patients voice their complaints.

Complaints are by nature:

  1. Unsolicited: They do not have a specific point in time and complaints channel should be available to use at any point during or after service delivery
  2. Require a prompt response: The speed of response to complaints is essential in guaranteeing they do not affect the client’s behaviors.
  3. Internal: They will not have the negative impact on the provider’s reputation a bad review would, however if patients don’t find an appropriate channel to file an internal complaint or are not satisfied with how the complaint was handled they are more likely to leave a public bad review.

C. External Reviews

Patients may leave online reviews on third-party websites to share their experience with healthcare services. 

External reviews are:

  1. Usually unsolicited: They happen usually after the patient is done with their experience with the healthcare provider. However patients could be asked to leave an online review if they feel they had a good experience.
  2. Reviews can be tricky as they are open to the public and have a big effect on the reputation of the healthcare provider.

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