Patient satisfaction in medicine and healthcare can be a signfiicant marketing driver for physicians offices, and hospitals. But is that where it ends? As a marketing technique? Nope!.
The implications of a satisfied patient are far more wide reaching in medicine and healthcare.
Fantastic business marketers understand all too well that customer satisfaction or the customer “experience” is the key to driving sales. They focus on every aspect of the consumer experience from the moment they walk into a store, arena, or concession area. Everything, and I mean everything is geared to excite you and motivate you to buy more. The colors, the lighting, the ambiance, the smell, the way everything is placed to catch your eye … it’s a multi-billion dollar industry.
What if physicians utilized patient satisfaction and the same principles these marketing leaders use to:
- Improve trust and confidence in their provider
- Humanize their presence
- Clear the windshield of doubt — hat tip to @seattlemamadoc for the phrase.
- Improve the effectiveness of care delivery
- Improve the quality of care offered
- Improve patient compliance
- Reinforce healthy behavioral modifications
- Improve medical decision making
- Make the patient part of the care team… and feel that their values, goals, desires and expectations are being addressed or taken into account.
Patient satisfaction can be broken down simply into two main issues… expectations and perceptions. Patients enter your office with a perception of the care or interaction they desire. They then decide if you met those expectations. It’s hard to address their expectations.. it’s not hard to address their perception — and a little effort can go can have a profound impact!
Social media and healthcare can go a long way to improving your understanding of what patients expect… and what other physicians are offering. The End of the Diva Paradox is upon us. It’s no longer acceptable to treat patients poorly because you feel you are the king of your catchment area. Not only will social media enable patients to share their poor experiences with their networks… and your future patients — But you have lost the opportunity to truly have an impact on a patient’s life! You have lost the chance to set that patient on the proper path — to empower them to help themselves make proper (healthy) decisions that take into account their personal values, ambitions and goals.
What a shame :-(
Disclaimer: this information is for your education and should not be considered medical advice regarding diagnosis or treatment recommendations. Some links on this page may be affiliate links. Read the full disclaimer.
I agree. If we narrow our view of social media to recognize only its marketing potential, we fail to miss the powerful connectivity, customization and accessibility of social media that lends itself to patient support, empowerment, compliance, and education. In the following post I list some samples of recent studies that support the adoption of social media for uses beyond marketing:
http://www.hivestrategies.com/2012/08/beyond-marketing-social-media-as-a-cost-saving-life-saving-healthcare-strategy/
These studies illustrate the power of social media for patient groups when support, education, and compliance are not only cost-saving, but potentially life-saving.
Thanks Jean… I appreciate you stopping by and offering your feedback. In the world of healthcare, medicine and social media… Marketing, as a key measured metric or driver for implementing a socially rooted new media presence is somewhat misguided and misses the points you outline in your link. Thanks again for your input.
Howard Luks MD
it does come down to managing expectations and perceived perception. i also think it is important to think about the the integral factors that contribute to creating this ‘experience’ – people, environment and systems – and how they work together. for further reading, here’s an earlier blog entry on some insights and ideas – http://bit.ly/kv6Imn.
Great article — we just shared it with our Marketing For Dental Specialists group on LinkedIn. The principles apply not only mds but all healthcare providers.
Steve… thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comments. I agree.. this plays well in many healthcare verticals — and beyond :-)
Howard Luks
All points well-taken, but I’d add another: self-satisfaction, not in the negative sense, but the pleasure one gets in helping others. It’s too easy for providers to fall into the trap of (over-) compensating for the latest threat to their incomes and forgetting what first led them to their career choice.
I find that doctors and other providers who go the extra yard for their patients – whether they’re paid for it or not – enjoy their practices, and their lives, more. Not a scientific sampling, i grant you, but I’d still bet on it.
John… Appreciate you stopping by. I absolutely agree with you. The satisfaction that I derive from being an Orthopedist who is willing to give his patients the time they need and address the concerns they have goes far far beyond any monetary reward.
Howard Luks