First impressions are extremely important and rather difficult to predict. Malcolm Gladwell, journalist and author of Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, said of first impressions, “We don't know where our first impressions come from or precisely what they mean, so we don't always appreciate their fragility.” This fragility is important to understand because it will not take much to sway a patient’s opinion.

Along a patient’s journey, she or he will encounter many different representatives of your hospital. From the hospital website, to a patient call center, to a hospital welcome desk, then on to registration, waiting rooms, nurses, physicians and more, there are many people and settings making first impressions, and the sum of all parts creates the overall opinion of your hospital.

No one stage of your continuum of patient care can make up for neglect at another stage. Your patient experience strategy needs to meet the needs of the patient -- both the information they require and in the method they prefer -- continuously and without interruption.

Answer this question: What’s the average number of rings a patient will hear before someone answers the phone? This metric of success doesn’t make it into any health care providers’ mission statement, yet it may be the the most important first impression you’re giving to a patient.

On the other end of the continuum of care is checking in with patients after their discharge, verifying that they are following physician instructions and also answering questions and scheduling follow-up exams, if necessary. These steps work to keep readmission rates down while keeping patients happy. In that way, this final step is the first impression in a new patient interaction.

At BerylHealth, we call this “Closing the Loop.” When the continuum of patient care seamlessly integrates with your hospital’s mission, values, staff, outside call center partners and referral networks, you have created a culture of first impressions that keeps patient experience positive.

At BerylHealth, we have the tools to give you clear and effective ROI on patient experience.

For more information on Managing the Patient Experience Across the Patient Continuum, see this presentation at The Beryl Institute from Kristin Baird, RN, BSN, MHA of Baird Consulting.