With the Emergency Department frequently the gateway to the rest of the hospital, it is essential to improve patient satisfaction in the ED. Successful programs cited by Press Ganey include hiring dedicated staff to improve communications about delays.

This made me think. Patient satisfaction in the ED is not dissimilar from patient satisfaction in other healthcare encounters. Patients want to know what to expect, they want to be treated with dignity, and above all they want constant and reliable communication. Is your organization consistently meeting the needs of your ED patients?

Some healthcare organizations use a customer care approach by calling patients after their ED visit to measure satisfaction and overall patient experience with the ED. Mystery shoppers are another way to test whether an organization is delivering a high level of service at all customer touch-points. The Beryl Institute’s newest white paper is on the rather provocative topic of Mystery Shopping the Patient Experience (register to download) and how some hospitals are using mystery shoppers to improve customer communication and satisfaction.

What are you doing to ensure customer service in your ED? …In your waiting rooms? …At your switchboard? And how is this translating into better customer satisfaction? I’d like to know what’s working in your organization.