Building a Patient Experience Strategic Plan

It takes a lot more than good patient care to build a successful medical practice. In today’s competitive environment, high patient retention and practice growth can only be achieved with exceptional service that’s sure to keep patients coming back. 

But how can you ensure you’re meeting patient expectations?

Developing a patient experience strategic plan is an excellent way to identify ways to improve the patient experience and build a loyal base of returning patients—here’s how to do it…

What creates a positive patient experience?

Patient experience is formed by the combination of interactions (or touchpoints) a patient has with your clinic—and it starts long before they ever step foot in a treatment room. 

From initially researching your clinic online, to booking an appointment, arriving at the clinic and sitting in the waiting room, the level of satisfaction patients have at each step of the patient journey will contribute to the overall patient experience. 

How to create a patient experience strategic plan

1. Measure your current performance

Start off by understanding what the current patient experience is like.

Put yourself in the shoes of a patient and analyze how they might perceive your service at each step along the patient journey, looking for any pain points which could jeopardize the patient experience.

In addition to this, consider any performance indicators that could provide valuable insights, such as:

• patient retention rates
• new patient repeat bookings
• average patient wait times
• patient feedback and online reviews
• complaints received

2. Establish your objectives

Next, you need to establish some clear objectives focused on improving the patient experience.

When setting objectives, make sure they meet the SMART criteria—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Adopting a SMART approach to goal-setting will make it easy to monitor and track performance and keep you accountable.

3. Develop a tactical plan

A tactical plan formally outlines the steps you need to take to achieve your objectives. In many cases, implementing even a few small changes can have a dramatic impact on the overall patient experience.

Here are some examples of things you might include:

• redesign the website
• implement a new online booking system
• establish patient greeting protocols
• restructure physician schedules to reduce wait times
• introduce new feedback handling policies
• develop a patient communication plan

Ensure you assign responsibility for each tactical activity and a timeframe for completion.

4. Monitor performance 

A set-and-forget approach to managing patient experience never works. 

Establish ways to measure ongoing performance, and review your plan at least once every 12 months to ensure you’re continually adapting to any environmental changes and improving the patient experience.

We know how to create sustainable practice growth

Are you struggling to retain patients and drive sustainable practice growth? At MD Logica, we can help you scale your medical practice and build a more profitable business. 

Considering everything from your operational practices to your marketing activity, we can show you how to not only find more patients, but keep your existing patients coming back.

Find out more about who we are or contact us to get started.