What is your memorable experience at a health care facility?
It is a common thing in Kenya to encounter distasteful services from the hospitals around us, whether in the big cities or rural. Hospitals around the globe are now striving to offer you the five-star luxury hotel treatment.
Glaring lights, loud noises, unfamiliar faces, restricted food and water and interrupted sleep.
This is the experience confronting many patients when they are admitted to the hospital.
At a time when they are already sick, weak and vulnerable, a poor care experience can add to the stress and trauma.
Hospitals are by nature stressful environments, so to earn patient loyalty and trust, healthcare providers are looking for ways to improve their stay.
This means making sure that every interaction a patient has is positive, humane and as stress-free as possible.
Achieving this is no easy feat. “The struggle is how we ensure the best interaction at every point of care,” said Jason Wolf, President of the Beryl Institute, at the Siemens Healthineers Executive Summit.
Wolf described patient experience as the long-term impact of the patient’s care interactions that will be remembered for a lifetime: “Experience is something we live through—the lasting story of care that is remembered, perceived and understood.
It is not just satisfaction, nor how happy they are, it is what they feel about their encounter.”
Health providers are learning the importance of offering patients a good selection of meal options and food that is tasty and well presented.
Hospital rooms and common areas should be welcoming places for friends and family to visit and create an environment that contributes to patients’ well-being.
Lighting needs to be appropriate for the time of day, and noise should be kept to a minimum.
Medical testing induces anxiety for many patients, as they must interact with unfamiliar and uncomfortable equipment.
Reducing the stress of this process can do much to relax patients and put them at ease, and equipment manufacturers increasingly keep patient experience in mind as they design new diagnostic and treatment technology.
For instance, nearly silent MRI scans—which generate images of the body’s organs and other features—help reduce stress during tests.
Designing imaging equipment to accommodate larger body shapes increases comfort for many people and can make the experience less claustrophobic.
Rooms that are decorated in attractive colors can also help reduce the stress of testing.
An engaged workforce is perhaps the most vital element in creating a positive environment and outlook for patients and their families.
Physicians, nurses and support staff all play a part. Meanwhile, to achieve the best outcomes, staff need to be treated well by their employers.
“What patients want is the same as what employees want: to be valued, listened to, cared for and about, and to be treated as an individual,” Dr Michael Bennick, Medical Director of Patient Experience at Yale New Haven Health, told the summit.
Giving patients a better experience means dimming the lights and reducing noise, but above all, keeping compassion at the heart of clinical care.
This creates trust and loyalty among patients, their families and providers in a healthcare landscape where choice is exploding.