Guest post in our health series. Enjoy! – Kimberly
The relationships that GP surgeries have with patients is very different from the standard business-customer relationship. After all, a GP surgery has a great deal of responsibility to protect the patients that use their services. However, this greater responsibility means that there is an even more pressing need for GP surgeries to provide the very best patient experience possible.
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
Update Your Website
Technology has transformed the way that people live their lives completely, and, likely, patients will now be coming to your website for information rather than calling the surgery directly. Therefore, having a strong website that is secure, reliable, and easy to navigate is key to ensuring a high-quality patient experience from the first interaction.
You should make sure that your website design is intuitive, so it is easy to navigate. In addition, since over 50% of internet traffic is now coming from mobile devices, you will benefit from having a responsive website design to ensure all visitors can use your website, regardless of their device.
Offer Online Bookings
Studies have found that more than 60% of patients would prefer to book an appointment digitally rather than having to call up or visit in person. Investing in an online booking portal can help you to offer your patients what they want while also freeing up staff to focus on tasks other than appointment booking.
Send Reminders
Sending patients reminders about their upcoming appointments is another critical step to ensuring the highest patient experience. The majority of patients wish to receive a reminder of an upcoming appointment via text message. Not only does sending reminders improve patient experience, but it also ensures you have a higher attendance rate, which reduces time wasted.
Organize Your Stock
Issues with stock can cause a range of other problems that affect patient experience, from increased waiting times to canceled appointments. So, you must have a system in place that ensures you do not regularly experience problems with your stock. As medical-supermarket.com explains, purchasing stock effectively can also help you to keep your running costs down, so you must have a clear and reliable system in place.
Upgrade Your Waiting Room
The quality of your waiting room can have a big impact on a patient’s experience at your GP surgery. You should, of course, make sure that your waiting room is a clean environment. It is also useful to try to create a warm and relaxing environment by using soft lighting and comfortable furniture, so patients feel at ease.
Reduce Waiting Times
Studies have found that short waiting times are a top priority for patients, second only to having a good listener doctor. When waiting times are too long, patients will start to feel frustrated and disrespected. You should try to organize the daily running of your surgery to avoid long waiting times. If you notice waiting times are increasing, you must be as transparent as possible. Ideally, you should contact patients before they arrive at the surgery on days with long waiting times to advise them to come in later.
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