Why Patients Will Soon Be Treated Like Valued Customers

John Casey | Axial Exchange | February 4, 2013

Why should hospitals and physicians get serious about the patient experience today? 

It’s good business!  Any well-managed hospital system or practice is concerned with attracting and retaining the most desirable patients - those seeking the most profitable procedures, those carrying insurance that provides the highest reimbursement rates, or the more affluent patients that may choose to pay cash.  By building strong reputations for delivering a quality patient experience to all their patients, hospitals and physician practices will be in the best position to connect with and attract these “ideal” patients. 

But this might not be enough incentive to improve the patient experience for those who entered the industry to do good, not to just do well.  In his blog, Mind the Gap, Steve Wilkins lists three reasons for providers to focus on the patient experience:

  1. Patients are starting to discover that their doctors and hospitals are not as good as they should be.
  2. Patient-centered care, approaching care from the perspective of the patient, is the right thing to do and it is not hard to do...