Healthcare leaders play an important role in patient experience, even though they do not engage directly with patients on a day-to-day basis, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Commitment to improving patient experience by hospital leadership is critical to improving HCAHPS scores, according to HFMA. Here are seven strategies for leaders to contribute to higher patient experience scores from HFMA.
1. Bring leaders and patients together to help leaders see and understand the patient experience from the patient's perspective.
2. Craft a definition of "patient experience" for your organization.
3. Include patients and their families in designing and improving care.
4. Hire happy, friendly staff.
5. Improve employee engagement and satisfaction, as employee satisfaction is liked to higher patient satisfaction.
6. Train staff in customer service skills.
7. Collect data and measure the patient experience. Then, share results with staff.
More Articles on Patient Satisfaction:
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100 Top Hospitals for Patient Engagement