Tis the Season to Evaluate the Patient Experience

As we move into the holiday season, a time traditionally focused on reflection and gratitude, healthcare providers have a unique opportunity to evaluate one of their most important assets: the patient experience. In today’s competitive healthcare environment, where the quality of care is often similar across providers, the patient experience has become the ultimate differentiator. This is the season to reflect on how your organization is connecting with patients—not just medically, but emotionally—and to ask yourself: How are you measuring patient satisfaction?

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. In healthcare, this means not only recognizing the physical symptoms a patient is experiencing but also acknowledging their emotional needs and concerns. When a patient feels that their provider genuinely understands them, it strengthens the bond of trust and boosts overall satisfaction. And research shows that patients who feel emotionally connected to their healthcare provider are more likely to follow through with care plans, keep appointments, and remain loyal to the healthcare system.

The holidays are a time of year when compassion and empathy are top of mind. It's the perfect season to reassess whether these values are being fully integrated into your patient interactions throughout the year. While high-quality care is essential, patients today are seeking something more—they want to feel heard, valued, and understood.

That’s where empathy comes in.

As we enter this season of goodwill, healthcare providers should ask themselves: Are we demonstrating empathy in every patient interaction? Whether it's through a call center, at the front desk, or during consultations, empathy has been proven to drive better patient experiences, improve clinical outcomes, and even enhance financial performance.

During the holiday rush, phone interactions often become the frontline for patient engagement. For many, a phone call may be their first point of contact with your organization—whether they’re scheduling a check-up, requesting an appointment, or asking for advice. These moments are crucial in shaping their overall impression of your healthcare system.

Empathetic, patient-centered communication on the phone can set the tone for the entire patient experience. Using active listening and empathy statements—such as "I can understand why that would be frustrating" or "That sounds like a challenging situation"—can make a world of difference. Even if your healthcare team is not physically present, a compassionate phone call can still convey warmth and care, ensuring patients feel supported and valued. This level of attention to emotional needs can dramatically increase patient loyalty and satisfaction.

So, how do you measure the success of empathy in patient interactions?

While it may seem like a soft skill, empathy directly impacts key metrics such as patient retention, satisfaction scores, and even clinical outcomes. Many organizations rely on patient satisfaction surveys, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), or post-visit feedback to gauge how patients feel about their experiences. But if your surveys only focus on efficiency and clinical outcomes, they may not capture the full impact of empathy on the patient journey.

Consider incorporating questions like:

"Did you feel that your provider understood your concerns?"
"Were your emotional needs addressed during your visit or call?"
"How would you rate the empathy of our staff during your interaction?"

These types of questions help measure how well empathy is being communicated and highlight areas for improvement in patient engagement.

At Envera, we believe that empathy should be at the heart of every patient interaction, especially during the holidays. As a provider of customized patient access solutions, we’ve trained our team to not only manage calls efficiently but to ensure each interaction is compassionate, empathetic, and patient-centered. By incorporating empathy into every touchpoint—whether it’s scheduling an appointment, confirming a follow-up, or addressing patient concerns—we help our clients improve patient satisfaction, foster loyalty, and ultimately enhance the patient experience.

As we reflect on the past year and look toward the next, now is the perfect time to evaluate your organization’s patient experience. Are your teams demonstrating empathy? How are you measuring patient satisfaction? With a little extra care and attention, healthcare providers can ensure their patients feel supported and valued—not just during the holidays, but all year long.