The successes of an ASC can be largely linked to patient satisfaction scores. We took a poll of over 750 surgery centers to see what tips they had for increasing patient satisfaction.
Here are our favorite tips, and five major themes we found across the spectrum. Feel free to ask questions or offer your own tips in the comments below. Enjoy!
Our Favorites
We have a "patient satisfaction team" that meets once a month to review the Press Ganey scores and we choose 3 areas to work on and try to increase the scores by the next survey. One example was the waiting area was not pleasing to some patients. We held a photo contest for pictures of the Round Rock area that were taken by our employees. Then the patients got to vote on the best pictures and we had them framed for the waiting area and now the scores are very positive.
- Send thank-you cards to each patient
- Put together a patient satisfaction committee of diverse staff, and allow your staff to assist in being part of the solution.
- Make it a team effort. Post scores and discuss patient satisfaction surveys both good and bad. Make it part of the performance eval and bonus program.
- Make a connection with your patients, find out what matters most to them, and ask them “how can I make this a better experience for them”.
Identify where you are low and address those areas
- Watch for trends and then take action.
- Use Press Ganey to focus on one item at a time and get that score increased. When that is where you want it to be, move on to another low-lying score and work your way through...this will eventually increase your overall score
- Move to electronic surveying if haven't already done so.
- MINIMIZE QUESTIONS SHORT AND SWEET AND CONCISE, MINIMIZE REDUNDANT INFORMATION
- Make sure the questions are easy to follow and the survey is short and to the point.
- Be sure to READ the surveys and apply corrections to the areas that you score low in.
Communicate with the family members during their stay
- We strive to keep our patients and families informed on everything.
- Use purposeful rounding with your staff and patients, continuously checking on patients and family members in the waiting rooms to see if they need anything.
- Letting families in the waiting room know if there are delays.
- Review communication flow with in your ASC and to the patients. How accessible is your Anesthesia team to your pts. Our pts have our Anesthesiologist cell phone number.
- Making the patient and family as comfortable as possible, offer warm blanket, snack, drink, etc.
- Keep your facility spotless and talk to patients regularly especially those having to wait for extended periods.
- Care for your patients and their family as if they were your own.
Focus on each patient
- Wait time is kept at a minimum
- Treat them like they are the only patient you have that day ... Not like a number and not like a "widget" on a conveyor belt.
- Treat patients with respect. Smile Smile. Do not rush patients. Give compliments often.
- Treat patients with love tenderness and care. After all, without them we will not be here.
- Treat every patient like a VIP, like they are a member of your family.
- Take recommendations and / or complaints from patients seriously and take the steps to make corrections
- Slow Down and Listen to patients
- It is important to tell your patients that they are the most important part of your day and make them feel secure
- Greeting them on arrival and thanking them for letting our staff take excellent care of them
- Give the patient your name and let them know if they need anything you are here
- Follow up calls the day after surgery. Get well cards sent to patient.
- Don't skip on warm blankets
Education and Instructions
- Utilize text/e-mail option to forward pertinent information to your patients, like times, instructions, delays, etc.
- Set clear expectations on the amount of time patients should expect to be in the facility.
- Prepare patient for visit without any surprises regarding copays or procedure preparation
- Identify areas in which you can improve you discharge instructions and make sure these are clear to the caretaker.
- Detailed pre-admit instructions with directions
Focus on staff satisfaction and provide your staff with constructive feedback
- Provide feedback to your team in real time, proper and continuous training is important.
- Hire the right people who will mesh well with the rest of the team to ensure good communication between departments and with patients.
- Ensure you hire the staff that is there for the patients. Staff interaction is our number one comment and they are the reason our scores are amazing.
- Engage staff and make patient satisfaction a priority in education and training
- Employee engagement is the key. The happier the employees are, the more the patient's pick up on that and have an overall better experience.
- Great training program for all new nurse’s Positive anesthesia involvement and interaction
- Daily reminders to the team
What other patient satisfaction tips do you have? Please share your thoughts, comments and tips in the comments below!
