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 Resource
Center
Improving Patient
Satisfaction: Service Quality
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The
following article was published in the March/April 1998 issue
of Audiology Today.
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If you’re like many audiologists, you understand and practice
clinical quality, but you could use help and ideas for improving
service quality and patient satisfaction. You read the audiology
journals, attend continuing education conferences, review product
literature on new technology, consult with colleagues, and most
of all, make time for your patients because you know that quality
is more than the technical component of audiology practice. It’s
listening, and touching, and making contact in a hundred different
ways.
This column is for everyone who wants to provide the best care
and the best service possible. I believe, and numerous audiologists
have confirmed, that patient satisfaction pays, economically and
clinically. Patient satisfaction solidifies loyalty and compliance,
attracts new patients, and can improve practice productivity and
efficiency. Quality service is not a fad, but a long-term reality
that directly affects the quality of care, patient outcomes, and
the success of your practice.
The
Quality Diamond
What are the elements of quality service? The Customer, Commitment,
Expectations, and Continuity. These are the four elements necessary
for the clinical and economic outcomes you seek.
The
Patient As Customer
When you view your patient as a customer, suddenly he or she has
rights that might have been considered unnecessary for the patient.
Because businesses depend on them to stay in business, customers
are given the benefit of the doubt. They get good service no matter
who they are or how they act (within reasonable limits). In practices
with a customer service orientation, the customer is at the top
of the organization chart.
Commitment
Begins with You
If you truly believe in quality service, if you believe that patients
have rights that extend beyond accurate diagnosis and treatment,
you can’t help but be committed, because it’s the only
way to demonstrate your belief. If you are committed to your customers
and to quality in practice, you will embrace quality improvement
as a necessary ongoing behavior and attitude in your practice,
and you will convey this attitude to your staff.
Listen
for Your Patients’ Expectations
If you don’t take the time and effort to discern what your
customers anticipate from their health care encounter and what
their needs and concerns are, you may make the mistake of assuming
that you know what they want or what they hope to gain. This is
inefficient from a productivity standpoint and can result in less
effective clinical outcomes. On the other hand, with accurate
knowledge of patient expectations, audiologist and staff time
and effort are invested in doing things superbly rather than constantly
fixing things that went wrong. This is certainly more productive
and satisfying for everyone.
Continuity
is the Loop-Closer
Continuity is the method for making certain that attention to
service quality is continuous, consistent, and ever-improving.
Continuity encompasses all the ways and means for measuring, evaluating,
and monitoring your progress. Continuity makes quality a built-in
attribute of every activity by formalizing the act of examining
every practice activity and asking, “Is there a better way?”
Moments
of Truth
Your customers look at and judge their overall experience in your
practice as an accumulation of moments of truth. If the accumulated
moments weigh in on the favorable side of the scale with only
one moment on the unfavorable side, the final assessment will
probably be favorable. (Assuming that the negative interaction
is a small one and not one of major significance, of course.)
Here’s how a patient may subconsciously process the experience:
The audiologist was friendly and informative; the staff were courteous;
the office was clean and conveniently located; I only waited 10
minutes in the reception area. The check-out clerk seemed a little
preoccupied, but that’s the exception. The audiologist explained
my hearing aid options pretty well, and she gave me this videotape
to learn more about the hearing aid she is recommending for me.
She also told me to call if I have any questions before my next
appointment. She seemed a little rushed this time, but the place
was busy. At my last appointment, I remember she gave me her full
attention.
Look at your practice from the perspective of your customers,
who on each visit evaluate the total experience. If you understand
your patients’ expectations collectively, and if you or your
staff take a moment during the visit to identify each customer’s
specific needs, you’re likely to get a thumbs up each and
every time, even with the occasional glitches that occur during
a normal day in any practice.
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