3 Reasons To Prioritize Improving The Patient Experience

The ongoing commercialization of healthcare has placed patients in a position of power when it comes to their healthcare. High deductible health plans (HDHP) and increased co-pays have caused patients to consider their healthcare choices with the same discriminating approach as they would any other purchase. This has forced healthcare providers to focus on improving patient satisfaction as a way to retain their patients. Here are 3 reasons why healthcare providers should prioritize improving the patient experience in today’s era of consumer-driven care.

1. Patient retention

In any business, the cost of acquiring new customers is significantly more expensive than retaining existing ones. The same is true in healthcare when it comes to patients/consumers. According to a Healthcare Finance survey, nearly half of responding organizations say they are losing more than 10% of their revenue due to poor patient retention, for one in five it’s 20%. Alternatively, another report cites that increasing customer retention by just 5% can result in revenue boosts between 25 and 95%.

2. Raising your VBP score

As the healthcare industry continues to shift to value-based costing models, keeping a close eye on your value-based purchasing score (VBP) has become critical. The CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program pegs the patient experience of care as 25% of an organization’s VBP score. The program rewards organizations based on the quality of care provided to Medicare patients, not just the quality of services provided. Under the program, CMS can withhold Medicare payments by up to 2 percent for providers who fail to measure up. These penalties are used to fund value-based incentive payments to high-performing hospitals in the program.

3. Driving toward the Triple Aim initiative

The healthcare industry is committed to improving care outcomes and reducing costs. These are the key focus areas of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Triple Aim initiative. The first goal is “Improving the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction).” Organizations that are pursuing the Triple Aim goals have healthier populations and provide better-coordinated care for patients that decrease the burden of care. Some organizations that have initiated the Triple Aim Program have seen healthcare costs 10 to 15% lower than competitors.

Nearly 9 out of 10 patients say they wouldn’t hesitate to switch providers if they are unsatisfied with their experience. As patients continue to evolve into healthcare consumers, healthcare organizations must take note. An engagement partnership with Envera Health can help in all three of these important areas. From advanced call center services to our dedicated teams of Patient Access Coordinators (PACs), we maximize operational efficiency and improve access to deliver a superior patient experience for our client organizations—

Our PACs score 96%+ on average for patient satisfaction!

Read more about Envera’s customized patient access solutions.