What Patients Really Want

Patients have more healthcare options and higher expectations than ever before, so it takes more than sound medical advice to keep them satisfied. The patient experience begins before an appointment is booked and extends beyond the visit itself.

Building strong relationships, generating positive online reviews, and providing timely follow-up are just a few of the ways you can improve patient experience. But, there are even more patient touch points that can impact experience:

• Patients expect to be able to schedule, cancel or change appointments online, receive automated appointment reminders and access their information through a patient portal. Sixty-eight percent of patients say they are more likely to choose medical providers that offer the ability to book, change, or cancel appointments online, and 57% have come to expect automated notifications via text, voice, or email to remind them about their appointments.
• More than two-thirds of patients say their providers need to improve their patient communication. While 69% say they are more likely to choose medical providers who communicate with patients through secure email, 64% say they still prefer human-to-human phone interactions when communicating with their healthcare providers.
• Knowing the cost of an office visit or procedure is also important to patients. Nearly four out of 10 patients view price transparency and cost as more important than their relationship with a provider. Young patients, especially, want more insight into cost, with 41% of millennials requesting estimates before undergoing treatment. Although 80% of patients want their doctors to help them manage financial responsibilities by communicating what insurance will cover versus what the patient will owe, 45% say their doctors do not do this or they do a poor job of it.

Sources: Accenture, Avtex, HealthPay24 and PatientPop