Have you ever had a bad experience at a healthcare facility? I have, and it really rocked my confidence and desire to go back to the doctor when something was wrong. Your patient satisfaction is essential in the healthcare industry because you, as a patient, depend on these providers to give you quality care that meets your needs. Unfortunately, many healthcare facilities struggle to meet these expectations. Thankfully, there are four ways that you can tell if your healthcare facility of choice cares about patient satisfaction.

To give you a preview: A great healthcare facility focuses on building relationships with patients, ensuring their needs are met, and providing a positive experience. This helps with your comfort level when visiting and increases the likelihood that you’ll return and be proactive about your health.

They Establish a Patient-Centered Culture

When you visit a healthcare facility, you want to feel a sense of belonging. It’s already unpleasant enough to have to go, so you’ll want to feel as comfortable as possible with the providers and staff. Most of us want to see ourselves reflected in the staff members and feel like we are an important part of the facility's culture.

A patient-centered culture meets these needs. Part of this mean they’ve hired a diverse staff whose members reflect the patients' demographics. Another aspect of it is ensuring all healthcare workers embody the facility's values. For example, the if facility highly regards patient education, all staff members should demonstrate patient education techniques and practices. If the staff doesn't reflect the facility's values, we won't see themselves reflected in them. We won't feel like they are part of the culture and will likely feel unsatisfied with their care.

They Upgrade Essential Equipment, Software, and Systems

When I visit a doctor or facility that has slow, old systems, it makes me wonder what else isn’t modern and updated there. It’s fair for us to expect to see modern equipment and software and be greeted by a system that is easy to navigate. When you go to a healthcare facility that has upgraded their equipment, software, and systems to make them modern, it makes everything a little easier for us by improving workflow, reducing in-person demand, making information more accessible, and increasing the ease with which we can navigate the system. It will also help the facility avoid delays - my biggest annoyance as a busy person when at a visit!

Healthcare facilities usually invest in private equity firms to help them with these essential upgrades. This is because top healthcare private equity firms offer the knowledge, experience, and resources to make these improvements. These investments also show that the facility is committed to delivering quality care that meets patient needs.

An example of an updated and patient-friendly system is the use of telemedicine apps to help diagnose and treat minor ailments without having to attend the facility, to order prescriptions and tests, or have appointments more conveniently. That’s one of the nice things that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic. When a facility has invested in telemedicine app development and upgraded internal systems, such as appointment booking software, procurements, and cleanliness, it makes for a better experience for all.

They Increase Patient Autonomy

Healthcare facility staff don't need to hover over patients, nor do they need to follow a strict script when providing care. That makes us feel like we’re just a number. But many facilities still operate in this way. To better meet the needs of patients and enhance patient satisfaction, healthcare facilities should increase patient autonomy. Finding a facility that cares about this will help to meet your needs, allow you to make decisions regarding your care, and ultimately improve your satisfaction with the facility. This is an important step in being empowered as a patient and taking ownership of your health.

One great way to judge whether your healthcare facility wants to give you autonomy is to notice if they use open-ended questions to increase when engaging with you. They should avoid using leading questions that influence patients to make certain choices.

They Utilize Patient Feedback

We visit healthcare facilities with the expectation of receiving quality care. Unfortunately, many patients leave their healthcare facility feeling unsatisfied. Look for healthcare facilities that both ask for and use patient feedback to identify improvement areas and discover what patients are looking for in their care. Take notice of whether they have a system to receive feedback, whether online or through paper surveys, as well as a system to analyze the information they receive and use it to improve patient care.