There are many elements that come together to create an outstanding customer experience. Two big factors are a brand’s consistency and quality, both in products and services. Companies have countless measures in place to ensure dependable desirable outcomes, but without these safeguards, things can quickly go awry.

Does your private practice have policies that actively promote a consistent, outstanding experience for your patients? Let’s look at just a few ways that you can ensure better healthcare quality checks for those you serve.

Start with a Solid Foundation

Without proper guidance, even the best team member can falter. It’s imperative to have thorough service quality policies in place that spell out what is expected from team members on a daily basis, as well as in delicate situations. If all staff are trained on the established expectations, it’s far easier to objectively identify slip-ups and correct them quickly.

Don’t Aim to Satisfy

This may sound counterintuitive, but you don’t want to aim simply to satisfy your patients. You should aim to surprise and delight them! The care and service you provide should be so exemplary that it creates fans for life, not just satisfied patients. Patients who rave about their experience with your practice are the ones who will refer others and be a loyal patient for life.

Execute a Flawless Recovery

While you may strive to wow every patient, there will still be some who aren’t happy with their experience. These situations can be uncomfortable, but it’s vital that we learn from them to improve in the future. Patients’ complaints and concerns need to be addressed through a documented system that lets patients know that you not only heard them but are doing whatever you can to make it right.

We have a documented process in place to address unmet patient expectations. The staff member(s) involved apologize personally, resolve the issue as quickly as possible, empathize with the person (rather than treating them like a problem), and find a way to make it up to them. Once all of these steps are adequately completed, we then follow up with the patient to make sure they know that they truly matter to us.

What Does the Data Say?

The process I described above is just a small part of the information we collect at our practices. When it comes to quality checks, data is your best friend. By thoroughly documenting your business, you can pinpoint what needs improvement. Without documentation, assessing the quality of the service you provide is a painfully ineffective guessing game.

At our practices, we analyze recently collected data in a monthly report. This report acts as a bird’s eye view of how we’re doing. In it we include all sorts of pertinent data, such as patient survey responses, the outcomes of any documented complaints/concerns, and online reviews. We look for trends to decide what areas of the practice need attention.

By self-evaluating frequently and implementing healthcare quality checks, your practice can easily correct when necessary to stay on the course to success.