The average patient satisfaction score is just around 70%.
Recent research suggests that patient satisfaction can impact clinical outcomes, medical malpractice claims and patient retention. Simple changes in the technology you use in your clinic can help you keep patients satisfied and informed.
Use digital solutions to fill the gaps
Technology is a powerful tool for improving patients’ healthcare experiences. Here is how you can begin leveraging technology to optimize patient experiences in your clinic.
Digital support can lower perceived wait times and reduce anxiety
The waiting room is one of the biggest hassles that patients face when going to the doctor. In fact, 85% of patients report waiting 10-30 minutes longer than their scheduled appointment time. Reducing wait times or increasing transparency around them can help you improve patient satisfaction rates.
Digital signage can help you do this with:
- Self-check-in kiosks
- Automated refill requests
- Opportunities to provide anonymous feedback
Digital signage can also put your patients at ease while they wait. With nature screens, mindfulness tips and trivia to occupy the mind, you can reduce anxiety and deliver a more comfortable waiting room experience.
Open up new lines of communication with patients
Opening up new lines of communication can make patients feel heard and alleviates frustration.
For example, you can share health and wellness tips on your screens to keep your patients informed. You could also record videos of key staff members delivering important information about your practice and play those to strengthen patient bonds.
Even simply posting current wait times on mounted screens addresses something that a majority of patients find frustrating, a lack of transparency around wait times.
Technology can fill gaps in communication and can help patients feel in control of their experiences. It’s an important part of making your clinic feel efficient.
Create a welcoming and informative environment
The environment that you create in your healthcare clinic plays a big role in how satisfied your patients are with their experience. Technology can help you turn your clinic into a more enjoyable place to be.
For example, you can use digital signage to share important information about your clinic, such as updated billing policies, links for online clinical portals or sharing health advice. Sharing this information in your waiting area can help your patients gain access to attentive care even when your front desk staff is busy.
You can use the same digital signage devices to display entertainment in your waiting room as your patients wait to see the doctor. UPshow offers many channels to choose from, ranging from regional sports to news. So whether your clinic cares for tiny tots or geriatric patients, there’s something everyone can enjoy on over 500 channels of entertainment.
You can even bring digital games into your waiting area to give patients another way to pass the time.
It makes inevitable wait times go unnoticed by patients.
Digital scheduling
Going out of your way to schedule appointments is another pain point that keeps many patients from scheduling regular visits.
It doesn’t just affect patients, either. Calling for follow-up appointments is just one more thing that your staff has to worry about. This is why so many clinics are turning to mobile appointment scheduling.
If you’re looking for a way to encourage patients to take the leap, prompting them to download mobile scheduling apps is the first step. Use QR codes to effortlessly link patients to download pages so patients can take scheduling into their own hands.
Your patients will enjoy the simplified scheduling experience all while you increase app exposure, an added opportunity to promote healthcare products, specialty services and patient education initiatives.
Get feedback on ways to improve
The best feedback you will receive comes from those experiencing your service.
Digital signage makes it easy for your clinic to engage with patients and encourage them to provide anonymous feedback. QR codes that link out to mobile surveys or touch screen polls that patients complete in-house are just two ways to approach gathering feedback.
Adding distance between patients and the clinic as they reflect on their experiences may generate more honest comments, allowing you and your staff to identify recurrent pain points in your services.
Patient retention matters
A recent survey found that the average doctor spends around $1,370 per month on marketing. The number of new patients earned for that sum can vary significantly based on the efficacy of campaigns.
Retaining your current patients is a much more cost-effective way to meet your revenue goals.
Doing so can allow your clinic to focus on what matters most, which makes it possible for you to focus on providing high-quality care rather than generating a client base.
Keep payments steady
Patient retention is also helpful when it comes to billing processes. Having a steady and consistent grasp of insurance payments and policies is just one less administrative worry to handle.
Plus, it allows you to skip sending accounts to collection and chasing after unpaid bills.
You can also start using in-clinic marketing to increase the value of every patient that you already have. For example, you can use digital signage to advertise:
- New services
- Health-related products
- Subscription-based patient care plans
Increased service opportunities not only help meet revenue goals but also help patients reach their healthcare goals establishing confidence in your practice.
Gain referrals
The Nielsen Group reports that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know.
Lifetime patients who refer your clinic to others can seriously contribute to your revenue, which makes both retention and promoting referrals important for clinic growth.
Here are a few tips on using digital signage to help you increase your referral rates:
- Use QR codes to create referral portals that patients can easily access and share.
- UPshow Health makes it easy to solicit and share positive patient experiences with social media streams and interactive displays.
- Promote your business by offering discounted rates on additional services and products you sell in clinic.
Remember that you’re also likely to receive the occasional negative review. These comments are also important to address, and some research suggests that even spending as little as 10 minutes a week directly addressing those experiences can lessen their impact by as much as 70%.
Improve your patients’ healthcare experiences with UPshow
Using digital signage to improve your patients’ experiences in your clinic makes it easy to keep patients happy and healthy. Plus, it may even help your staff address pain points in services.
Investing in resources to help your clinic improve is easier than you may think. Here are some ways UPshow can help you meet your clinic’s patient care goals:
- Display nature scenes and mindfulness tips to help patients combat waiting room anxiety
- Keep things interactive with displayed games and trivia
- Advertise new products and additional services
- Easily design custom displays with Canva integration
Looking to create a better experience for your patients and staff? Click below.
