Online Patient Review Management System

Online Patient Review Management System 

In yet another innovative way to address the issues hospitals face in the patient satisfaction realm, a US hospital has implemented an online management system to do just that: manage patient complaints.

This newest attempt at connecting with patients in the hopes of improving their satisfaction has so far been effective. Miami Children's Health System has been taking an interactive approach to responding to patient online reviews, which in and of itself should be acknowledged because the hospital is proving that they care but also simply because they are ahead of the pack. Many hospital administrations around the country don't put much stock into the significance these reviews are having -- big mistake; in fact, a majority of patients value these types of reviews when selecting a facility.

Back to Miami Children's: in the process of finding and responding to patient feedback on 3rd party review sites like Yelp, it became clear that keeping up with all of the review websites would be a cumbersome task. Enter their solution: an online reputation management system. A single solution that can aggregate reviews from many different sources, enabling the team at Miami Children's to more efficiently and effectively respond to all patient reviews.

Not only can a reputational management tool identify and help with individual patient complaints, it can also be an overall gauge to hospital management on how their facility's reputation is being perceived. 

“...now everyone knows that they can’t stick their head in the sand anymore and have to acknowledge that patient feedback is happening. We are adopting a mindset to not be reactive, but proactive. We’re addressing issues before they get out of control.” - Miami Children’s Web Marketing Manager Robert Prieto

Source: Patient EngagementHIT

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The New CEO: Chief Experience Officer 

Patient-centric care is the future. Patients have begun to take a more active role in their healthcare decision making. Because of this, hospital management and healthcare providers need to become experts in patient experience, satisfaction measures and how this all impacts their hospitals and practices.

Enter the newest position to join the C-suite: The Chief Experience Officer.

This position is responsible for the acute understanding of what patient satisfaction is, how it is measured, what factors are involved, and how to improve it. Not only does improved patient satisfaction help, well, just that, it can also improve retention rates, improve local reputation and reduce the number of malpractice lawsuits.

Technology is this new CEO's greatest tool.

Patient care portals improve provider-patient relationships by staying connected and allowing for an open line of communication.

Health IT also helps to streamline work flows, creating more efficient patient care.

Not to be forgotten in a digital world, is the ever important personal, empathic, face-to-face interactions.

A very deliberate balance between screen-time and face-time is the ultimate equation to a well taken care of and satisfied patient. 

Source: Patient EngagementHIT

Value-based Care & Patient Input

The issue with current VBP measures lies in the inaccuracy of actual patient experience. A recent Patient Engagement article suggests improving this issue by simply including patients' input.

"...patients aren’t stupid. They can tell if they are being well served, if someone is attempting to be responsive to their questions in a reasonable and educated manner. Patients are intuitive and perceptive and thus are instrumental in developing quality healthcare measures. While patients cannot always speak to the quality of a certain procedure (but effective treatment also should not be minimized), patients can identify an empathic and respectful doctor."

- Heritage Provider Network President Mark Wagar

The only thing that could happen if patient input was used is an improvement in patient experience. While complex changes like this are not easy, it really is the only way we will improve the quality of healthcare in this country.

Sources: Patient EngagementHIT article 1 & Patient EngagementHIT article 2

Read last month's News to Know blog post here