Patients are setting their own benchmarks, rules and standards by which hospitals are expected to comply. More important is the speed these expectations will be formulated, communicated and publicized. Such promptness will quickly separate winners from losers in the health marketplace, according to the recent PwC report "Customized Medicine." Here are four tips to incorporating patient benchmarks into your hospital's performance measurements.
1. Detail, plan and implement how your hospital will track patient feedback. While surveys have shown patient experience as top priority for hospitals, many organizations have yet to implement strategies to tackle the issue and are leaving it largely undefined. Research has indicated it takes two years to achieve sustained improvement and positive results in patient experience, so hospitals may want to think twice before pushing their evaluation strategies to the backburner.
2. The Web is every patient's microphone. Patient experience is now communicated through online databases and scorecards, social media and virtual communities. When it comes to healthcare decisions, approximately 48 percent of people turn to health websites for information — more than any other resource — according to a 2010 Pricewaterhouse Coopers Global Consumer Survey. With this magnitude, a lack of Web presence will seriously damage a hospital's credibility, reputation and competitive advantage. Hospital leaders will be wise to become tech-savvy and explore unorthodox methods of reaching out to patients and consumers while also addressing feedback online.
3. Combine traditional methods with modern technology to track patient satisfaction. Hospital leaders may want to consider embracing patient benchmarks — regardless of the medium they are communicated — to better meet consumer needs. Providers must incorporate their traditional methods patient satisfaction measurement (surveys, focus groups, etc.) with Web-based tools (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) that provide instant feedback and real-time conversations. By incorporating both the traditional and the modern, these patient satisfaction measurements will more accurately reflect different age populations.
4. Address your wait times and how they can set you apart from competition. More specifically, hospital wait times are receiving much more attention than in the past. Some states, like California, have passed legislation that sets a maximum wait time for HMOs. Legislation aside, patients are still forming their own expectations for how long is too long to wait.
More health systems and hospitals are beginning to reduce complications for patients, such as length forms or confusing signs, to reduce wait times and meet expectations — which are known now more than ever. Hospitals are also beginning to publish emergency department wait times online, making the information easily accessible to patients and distinguishing themselves from competition.
Read more about benchmarks and social media:
-The Best and Worst Ways to Use Benchmarks
-40 Hospital Benchmarks
-5 Hospitals Using Social Media to Their Advantage
1. Detail, plan and implement how your hospital will track patient feedback. While surveys have shown patient experience as top priority for hospitals, many organizations have yet to implement strategies to tackle the issue and are leaving it largely undefined. Research has indicated it takes two years to achieve sustained improvement and positive results in patient experience, so hospitals may want to think twice before pushing their evaluation strategies to the backburner.
2. The Web is every patient's microphone. Patient experience is now communicated through online databases and scorecards, social media and virtual communities. When it comes to healthcare decisions, approximately 48 percent of people turn to health websites for information — more than any other resource — according to a 2010 Pricewaterhouse Coopers Global Consumer Survey. With this magnitude, a lack of Web presence will seriously damage a hospital's credibility, reputation and competitive advantage. Hospital leaders will be wise to become tech-savvy and explore unorthodox methods of reaching out to patients and consumers while also addressing feedback online.
3. Combine traditional methods with modern technology to track patient satisfaction. Hospital leaders may want to consider embracing patient benchmarks — regardless of the medium they are communicated — to better meet consumer needs. Providers must incorporate their traditional methods patient satisfaction measurement (surveys, focus groups, etc.) with Web-based tools (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) that provide instant feedback and real-time conversations. By incorporating both the traditional and the modern, these patient satisfaction measurements will more accurately reflect different age populations.
4. Address your wait times and how they can set you apart from competition. More specifically, hospital wait times are receiving much more attention than in the past. Some states, like California, have passed legislation that sets a maximum wait time for HMOs. Legislation aside, patients are still forming their own expectations for how long is too long to wait.
More health systems and hospitals are beginning to reduce complications for patients, such as length forms or confusing signs, to reduce wait times and meet expectations — which are known now more than ever. Hospitals are also beginning to publish emergency department wait times online, making the information easily accessible to patients and distinguishing themselves from competition.
Read more about benchmarks and social media:
-The Best and Worst Ways to Use Benchmarks
-40 Hospital Benchmarks
-5 Hospitals Using Social Media to Their Advantage