Patient satisfaction is one of the most important metrics you can use to determine your success as a medical practitioner. Once a patient leaves your medical practice, your ability to improve satisfaction is over. Or is it? Read on to see how a well-designed website can not only create a better experience for your patients, but also allow you to gauge patient satisfaction.
1. Release Essential Information
Information that once required a phone book lookup and a telephone call, you can now make readily available online. Providing your patients with the basic information necessary to find and expedite their visit to your practice will improve their satisfaction as well as increase the likelihood they’ll use your services now and in the future.
Essential information for your medical practice website includes:
- Hours of operation
- Contact information, including phone, address, email, and a fillable contact sheet
- Services you offer
- Insurance or payments you accept
- Your qualifications
2. Allow Patients to Access Your Practice Remotely
A well-designed website can increase your patients’ perception of their own control over their care. Adding site features that allow patients to interact and take scheduling and records into their own hands can have a marked effect on patient satisfaction. Consider adding these elements:
- Online appointment booking. The benefit of the ability to schedule appointments from the comfort of the patient’s home without having to wait on hold is undeniable.
- Pre-appointment registration. Only 20% of providers include pre-registration on their websites. However, the ability to check in ahead of time saves time at your office, thus improving patient satisfaction.
- Access to aftercare recommendations. Providing detailed aftercare advice for common services your practice provides allows your patients easy access to information that’s often forgotten the moment they leave your office.
3. Increase Provider-Patient Interactions
Increasing interactions by improving your digital media can seem counterintuitive. However, if you add to the ways in which patients can engage with you via your website rather than scheduling an appointment, you’ll increase patient satisfaction.
- Feedback forms. Feedback forms give patients a chance to provide you with information regarding their satisfaction with their care. In turn, you can choose to follow up personally, increasing your patient contact, as well as make improvements to address any shortcomings. In the end, your patients will experience improved care.
- Online chat. An online chat feature allows you or a trusted staff member to communicate with patients and answer routine questions they may have.
- Blogs. Although you aren’t interacting directly, publishing a blog on your website allows you to perform an important, informative service for your patients. Once you build up a history of posts, your patients can search your repository of information, making you a trusted resource.
- FAQs page. Creating a frequently asked question page, much like a blog, provides a collection of information your patients can search.
As you can see, a quality website provides a number of features your patients can access before and after a visit so that you can continue to provide a positive impact long after they leave your office. Increased positive interactions improve your patients’ satisfaction and allow you to make changes to continue that trend.
Ready for more information on increasing patient satisfaction via your website? Click HERE to Learn More About How Your Website Can Increase Patient Satisfaction For Your Medical Practice
Additional Resources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2013/11/02/quick-truths-for-improved-patient-satisfaction-and-customer-service-from-consulting-in-hospitals-and-healthcare/#684dddae7cef
https://www.practicebuilders.com/blog/patient-satisfaction-why-it-matters-and-how-to-improve-it/
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/why-top-hospitals-have-inadequate-websites-10-things-to-know.html
https://agilie.com/en/blog/hospital-website-development-5-reasons-why-your-hospital-needs-a-website