By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How Top Rated Hospitals Are Improving the Patient Experience
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > How Top Rated Hospitals Are Improving the Patient Experience
BusinessHospital AdministrationWellness

How Top Rated Hospitals Are Improving the Patient Experience

Ryan Kh
Last updated: November 30, 2015 4:59 pm
Ryan Kh
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

Earlier this year the government implemented a program to apply star ratings to hospitals based on patient feedback surveys. Those ratings are helping Medicare patients compare hospitals and ultimately select a facility. They also have an effect on the hospital’s pay scale through Medicare.

Earlier this year the government implemented a program to apply star ratings to hospitals based on patient feedback surveys. Those ratings are helping Medicare patients compare hospitals and ultimately select a facility. They also have an effect on the hospital’s pay scale through Medicare.

Since the surveys went into effect in 2007, many hospitals have made huge strides in improving the patient experience. Some have even implemented their own clinic surveys to increase the quality of their service. Here’s a look at how the top rated hospitals improved their scores by focusing on different elements of patient care:

Hiring Staff That Puts Focus on Patient Care

More Read

5 Best Exercises to Strengthen Your Lower Back
Defending the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY)
Don’t Regulate DTC Genetic Testing
#SXSW2014’s Healthcare Innovation Agenda
ICD 10 Implementation: Understanding the Financial Ramifications

Each employee at a hospital or medical clinic has daily job tasks that may or may not involve patient interaction. Using healthcare support staffing will help find employees who understand how their work impacts the patient experience. This goes a long way towards improving care.

Virginia Hospital Center has credited careful employee selection for their improved rating. Officials there have implemented a screening process that includes behavioral testing, in-depth interviews and endorsements by current employees. Every six months employees are reevaluated to gauge how well they are performing and serving the overall goal of improving patient care.

Training Staff in Customer Service

More facilities now recognize that properly training healthcare support staff in customer service best practices has a significant impact on the experience of patients. Every employee is being trained in how to handle patient questions and complaints regardless of their position. Healthcare facilities are also benchmarking their customer service against top rated companies rather than other clinics. After all, patients are consumers, and they expect the same level of service that they get from other providers.

Practicing Better Communication

Officials at the University of Missouri Health System say that they have helped doctors and nurses improve their communication skills through simulation. Actors were used to play out various scenarios, including ones that don’t involve diagnosis or treatment.

Attention is being turned to the fact that all interaction makes a difference in the patient’s experience. This also includes non-verbal communication. The UNC School of Medicine created its own guidelines for improving the patient-doctor relationship, and using effective non-verbal communication was high on their list of suggestions.

Personalizing Patients

In medical facilities, getting through the day is often a numbers game. It’s easy for patients to simply become the next person in line. But that mindset is changing in hospitals that want to improve their patient survey scores.

Rowan Medical Center has been notorious for being among the lowest scored Medicare hospitals. New management has recently implemented a number of small changes that are making a big difference. One of those changes is personalizing the patients by adding white poster boards to each room. While talking with patients nurses add tidbits of information about the patient. That way when the next nurse comes to check on the patient they can immediately see personal information and make a connection. Rowan has also made it a goal to have nurses spend 70 percent of their time interacting with patients.

Bringing Patient Experience Consultants on Staff

The issue of improving patient experience has become so significant that there are now professionals that specialize in helping healthcare facilities identify where improvements can be made. These patient experience consultants are tasked with creating complete strategies that address patient satisfaction on every level. They’ll assess everything from billing systems to the cultural environment to find solutions that provide sustained improvement.

Improving patient experience is an ongoing process that will continue to evolve right alongside medical treatments. Hospitals that perform at top levels understand the importance of investing in patient care beyond the treatment plan.

TAGGED:hospitalspatient experience ratingspatient surveys
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Ryan Kh
Follow:
Ryan Kh is an experienced blogger, digital content & social marketer. Founder of Catalyst For Business and contributor to search giants like Yahoo Finance, MSN. He is passionate about covering topics like big data, business intelligence, startups & entrepreneurship. Email: ryankh14@icloud.com

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

hospital recruitment
BusinessHospital Administration

Hospital Recruitment Tweaks to Help You Hire More Qualified Applicants

December 28, 2020

5 Laws of Innovation and Adoption for Telehealth / mHealth

February 26, 2013

Pay More, Get Less: US Healthcare in a Nutshell

September 20, 2013
Wellness

4 Whole-Body Healing Techniques for Lasting Addiction Recovery

October 13, 2017
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?