How to reduce complaints and improve the quality of patient care?
Patients around the world need access to quality patient care. However, only a small portion of them manage to get it.
The latest statistical data reports that 5.7 - 8.4 million patient deaths occur due to poor quality of patient care in low and middle-income countries. These deaths can be easily avoided by improving patient safety and quality of care, which all the healthcare units and patient practices need to take care of now. Along with deaths, a major portion of patients worldwide are regularly deprived of quality clinical care.
Today, patients are much more aware of the clinical conditions, treatments, medicines, medical care, and cost of the same than it was before. Besides, with the boom of the internet, patients today are also cognizant of the care that they are receiving and what they deserve. This is also deepening dissatisfaction among the patients and patient parties.
1 of every 3 patients comes up with negative experiences of patient care and complains about disrespectful care, short consultations, long wait times, the rise in costs, lack of transparency, and more. All of these combinedly bring down the quality of patient care.
Importance of "quality" in patient care?
For everything that we decide upon, most of us first determine its quality. This is more than important when it comes to healthcare services, where patients reeling with diseases are concerned.
To define the quality of medical care is to attest to how an ideal medical facility is for the patients. Right from the patient appointments to the discharge of the patients, quality plays a major role throughout the patients' journeys.
Providing high-quality patient care is what the patients want today. Ensuring an optimum quality of medical care not only benefits the patients and enhances the overall quality of medical care, but also helps the medical practices achieve a list of benefits.
Here are some of the major advantages that the patient healthcare facilities and medical practices enjoy with an enhanced quality of patient care:
It amplifies goodwill - Providing quality and safety in healthcare will certainly set a practice apart from all the others who donât provide the same, and will help the former in many good ways. The first is by boosting the credibility of the practice.
Magnifies patient satisfaction - Satisfying the patients of today is challenging indeed. However, the practices can start with making the patients satisfied by providing them with high-quality patient care with the best possible care and amenities they need.
Promotes quality clinical care - Offering quality patient care by the practices goes a long way ahead to help practices be credible and promote quality and safety in healthcare worldwide.
Multiplies patient influx - If the patients find that they are getting decent quality care at their nearest medical practice, they simply would not have to go anywhere else for the same. This will thus increase the attraction of new patients along with multiplying the retention of old ones.
Boosts the overall morale - Practices serving quality patient care would help enhance patient satisfaction and multiply patient influx. All of these would in turn lead to improving employability and help in the growth of financial income and stability of the healthcare workers, thereby boosting the overall morale.
Encourages the patient-centric concept in practices - Patient-centrism is the new drive of the age. Developing a healthcare system around the patients is something that the medical industry and its providers look forward to today. Such a system would empower the patients and help lift their condition from what it is now.
Along with the above-mentioned benefits, infusing quality in patient care is something that promises more than what the providers can want.
The primary aim of promoting quality patient care is to reduce the rising patient complaints and help patients receive the care they have always wanted. GrowPractice is one of the most reputed medical software and patient management systems that ensure the optimum quality of healthcare extended to the patients.
Reducing patient complaints and boosting quality clinical care for the patients!
As the patients now are aware of the possibilities of healthcare practices and are conscious of how advanced the practices and the medical technology have been, they are always on the run to get the best quality of healthcare.
According to recent data, among all the complaints the healthcare industry sees in a year, over 27% of them are associated with clinical treatment. Then came the attitude/conduct of the medical professionals, wait times, patient expectations, billing, healthcare costs, communication, and more.
If you are also wondering about the patient complaints back at your medical unit/practices, and how you can minimize them, then here are effective ways via which you can ensure the reduction of patient complaints, which would lead to improving patient care:
Implementing digital ways
Digitalization is the call of the age. Along with more and more patients and individuals heeding the call, an increasing number of healthcare units and patient practices too are implementing digital tools and techniques, to keep pace with them. Right from the patient appointment methods to the follow-up ways, everything needs to be digitalized for the practices today to serve their patients well.
Reports have even revealed that around 60% of Gen Y patients are willing to switch their providers if they feel a lack of digital access and benefits. With effective patient management software, practice management systems, and more, GrowPractice would ensure that your practice is digitally advanced.
Cutting down the patients' wait times
Over 40% of patients think that the wait times are annoying when it comes to visiting the doctor. Besides, an overwhelming 84% of the patients have also stated that the wait time is very important, which significantly contributes to their overall experience.
The Wait Time Report, 9th Edition, Vitals have also declared that 30% of patients have walked out of their appointments after facing a long wait. This needs to be reduced effectively. Choosing GrowPractice as the software provider at your practice is something that you can go forth to reduce patient complaints linked with wait times.
Reinforcing healthcare systems with security
Security is a major requirement in the digital age that we are living in. Besides, the patients too are really concerned about the digital security that their medical providers offer them.
Around 80% of patients are inclined to book their online appointments with the help of secure web services. Furthermore, 69%of them are more likely to go with the medical practices that communicate with their patients via secure emails. With HIPAA-compliant, medical software, and systems, advanced data encryption, and more, GrowPractice offers secure medical office software solutions.
Hiring proficient doctors, nurses, and healthcare staff
More than 90% of the medical care received by the patients depends on the doctors and nurses treating them. It is the experience and expertise of them and the other healthcare professionals that might even make an average healthcare unit surpass the well-established facilities.
Therefore, it is always important to onboard proficient doctors, nurses, and medical staff along with housing cutting-edge amenities.
Promoting patient-centric care practices
Extending the aid that the patients need right at the time they need them is really important and is one of the primary ways medical practices can promote patient-centric care with. Encouraging a culture where the patients are prioritized in hospitals, patient practices, and other healthcare facilities is something that has the potential to reduce patient complaints and lift the quality of patient care.
Infusing transparency in practices
Transparency needs to exist regardless of the trade. When it comes to the medical industry, transparency needs to be ensured primarily when it comes to the costs and the patient wait times.
The cost of healthcare services is unpredictable, said 77% of the patients surveyed. Furthermore, 65% of the patients are of the opinion that the transparency of the cost of healthcare is critical to their overall satisfaction. On the other hand, 43.4% of the patients have disclosed that they hardly know the length of their appointment. The smart and effective digital software and products that are designed to be transparent both for the patients and the providers from GrowPractice are your way to go if you need to ensure transparency in the medical care services you provide.
Some other steps you can take to reduce patient complaints are:
• Reducing billing and medical claims errors
• Improving communication channels
• Increasing accessibility of doctors and other healthcare staff
• Encouraging round-the-clock patient appointments and reminders.
• Promoting quality ways to follow-up
How will the medical office software from GrowPractice help cut down patient complaints?
GrowPractice is one of the most trustworthy medical office software providers that bring a range of easy-to-use and effective medical office, patient practice management systems, and software that are drastically improving the ways patients are treated. This is leading to reducing patient complaints and improving the quality and safety in healthcare.
Here are some of the major benefits that GrowPractice is bringing in for the patients and providers:
• Fast and hassle-free patient appointment scheduling
• Digital patient check-in and intakes
• Accurate billing and medical claims
• Easy collection of patient revenues
• HIPAA-compliant two-way texting for the patients
• Customized patient workflow
• Effective patient satisfaction surveys and online reviews
The medical office software solutions provided by GrowPractice not only help the practices serve the patients well but also lead them towards growth and stability. GrowPractice's advanced digital solutions have already added $60,000 more revenue per provider. You can also try reaching GrowPractice now to improve your practice and the quality of patient care it offers.
