How to Improve Hospitality in Your Hospital

Research shows patient experience will improve your hospital’s bottom line.

Americans say they listen to medical advice more when hospital staff is nice to them.

A recent study on hospital patient satisfaction from Cornell University found most participants record a “good satisfaction” score for hospitality over the actual medicine.

Hospitals with the lowest mortality rate had overall better scores, but only by 2 percentage points. The most important factor? Communication from nurses and doctors – that could yield a 27-percentage point difference.

Medical experts have criticized patient satisfaction surveys, calling them as “useful to medicine as Yelp reviews.” But further research from Deloitte suggests that hospitals with higher scores are more profitable.

Hospitality Excellence’s mission is to help improve business with white-glove service. Find out five ways below…

1. Treat patients with respect

Hospitals can be hectic. During a rushed day, some patients may feel hurried and rushed through their visit. Even when a patient or client comes off as difficult, it’s important to take an empathetic approach to them. Your patients may be nervous about their treatment.

Focus on eye contact and a calm demeanor with patients. Remember and use their names. Consider having the staff wear name tags including doctors. Human interaction goes much further when nobody’s a stranger.

Everyone who comes in contact with patients should give off the feeling they’re mission is to help provide the best outcome. No matter how difficult the diagnosis or petty the visit, each patient is a paying customer. More importantly – a human being. Always keep a warm bedside manner.

2. Cleanliness is key

Every day, one out of 31 hospital patients have at least one healthcare-associated infection, according to the Center for Disease Control and prevention. With COVID-19 in the back of everyone’s minds, hospital patients are on the lookout for the most stringent cleaning procedures.

The best tactic is to always err on as much caution as possible. Keep a regular cleaning crew and educate your hospital staff on the latest sterilization and cleaning practices to ensure safety and peace of mind.

3. Patients want a room of their own

More hospitals – private and public – are constructing facilities with more patients than hospital rooms. Historically, hospitals have been built needing to optimize space and include more than one bed per room.

Patients who feel more comfortable with a view and ability to have visitors are more likely to take treatment advice. With more private insurance holders there are more options. Hospitals can stand out among the competition with comfortable patient rooms.

4. Focus on time with patients

From phone calls to time in an appointment, patients take note of how long they wait and the amount of time medical professionals focus on them. It’s important not to keep patients waiting for more than 30 seconds on a phone call. Emails and voicemails should be addressed in a standard time frame so everyone feels it’s just the norm.

It’s important for patients to be checked in to their appointments as quickly as possible. Even if they need to wait in the appointment room, it’s better than being left guessing in the waiting room.

This is where a check-in system can be enforced and tracked for measures of success. Long wait times don’t necessarily cause lower satisfaction scores. Patients are understanding of busy days. It’s just important to make it noticeable things are moving and communicate that to the waiting room.

5. Keep a calm atmosphere

Have you noticed hospitals that include gardens, and fountains outside of the building? Perhaps you walk into a lobby with a piano, playing soothing music. The idea is to give off a calming environment to people walking in to deal with their ailing health.
Some entering the hospital are there to visit a family member with a terminal disease. Mortality and diminishing health are facts of life. The calmer everyone can remain the less traumatic an experience can feel.

Decor can make a difference. Keeping the noise down also makes patients and visitors feel more comfortable. Nurses need alarms to notify them of failing IV lines or heart rate monitors.

Quieter equipment and wearable devices can help nurses hear what they need to without disrupting someone and their family during a hospital stay.