The system that is integral to our every day is foreign to patients.  They don’t know which health system their doctor is affiliated with, and no matter whose shift it is, they want to see their nurse.  They see inconsistency where you see continuity of care, and they see a bad experience where you see a good outcome.  This is because communication, not process, has the greatest impact on their perception.

Hospital executives spend a lot of time in other people’s shoes, including everyone from the charge nurse to primary care physicians to mayors.  As big an undertaking as that is, it’s important to step into patients’ shoes too. Every interaction you have with a patient will enhance your brand or detract from it.  Consider a few strategies for opening communication channels:
 

Never check patients off your list.

Once the patient is discharged from our care, we tally the procedures, collect the revenue, audit the outcomes and send out a survey to see what they thought. Then, we’re done – until the next time the patient needs care. We hope we have done a good enough job that they will choose us again. Rather than hope, why not continue the relationship?

Get to know your patient further, and you’ll discover their health needs didn’t stop when they exited the hospital.  How many discharged patients do not have a primary care physician?  How many patients are readmitted to your hospital because they did not understand their discharge instructions?  How many patients discharged had a negative experience you don’t know about?

Invite doctors to the table

Patients often miss the connection between doctors and hospitals, so affiliated or independent, physicians are shaping the patient experience in your hospital.

Just opening up the issue of patient communication for physicians to discuss can make a difference for both hospitals and physician practices.  Start the discussion with “I’m Sorry” shield laws.  The University of Michigan Health System says over 10 years, their I’m Sorry policy halved malpractice claims and improved patient satisfaction.  If these two words lead to savings and satisfaction, there are bound to be others that create loyalty and preference.

Communicate wherever, whenever

Delivery on your brand begins with the first encounter. How you handle the initial inquiry and help to meet need is critical. That first encounter can take place anywhere.  It could be a call, or stopping by a physician practice.  These days, it could be a tweet or a Facebook post.

Patients expect to be able to interact using two-way communication through your website and through social media. Your digital strategy should incorporate real-time answers.  While new channels create challenges, opportunity is greater.  You can increase frequency of communication and leverage word of mouth to establish your hospital as the provider of choice.

The common thread through these solutions?  Speak!  Hospital leaders must understand and respond to the relationship gaps in hospitals, physician offices and patients’ homes.  The experience doesn’t start and stop the way some hospitals think it does.  If you’re doing it right, it will never stop at all.

(P.S. If you’re at the November Greystone Healthcare Internet Conference in Orlando, please plan to join us for the Tuesday 1:45-2:45 session, “If You Think Selling Snowballs to Eskimos is Hard…” In this session, you will hear from us and our client on bridging the relationship gaps with patients).