In HealthcareCustomer Service

Objective

• 6.32 Demonstrate respectful and empathetic treatment of ALL patients/clients. (customer service)

Does it Matter in Healthcare?

• YES!• The healthcare market is

competitive.• Patients have choices.• Patients evaluate the entire

experience.• Have you or a family member ever

made the decision to switch healthcare providers? Why?

Patient Expectations• Need to meet patients’ expectations

in order for them to be satisfied.• Health care workers are responsible

for patient satisfaction.• What is the cost of an unhappy

patient?

What’s it Like to be a Patient?

• Do you think most patients find the world of health care to be frightening and stressful?

• How do you feel when you are receiving healthcare?

• Does the “fear factor” that is often associated with health care create a greater need for healthcare worker kindness?

Patient Service Questions• How long did you wait before being

seen?• Were you informed of any delays?• Were you given clear instructions?• Were all your questions answered, and

were you given info about how to have future questions answered?

• Were all procedures explained?• Were all personnel courteous and

compassionate?

What Should Healthcare Workers Do?

• Smile when appropriate.• ALWAYS speak warmly and

courteously.• Use professional language – and use

the patient’s name.• NEVER tell patients your personal

problems, and be careful about giving any personal information.

• Focus on the patient’s needs.

Did you Know?• Medical lawsuits are mostly related

to whether or not the patient likes you.

• ANY lawsuit, warranted or not, is extremely stressful for everyone involved.

• Many lawsuits can be avoided if healthcare workers assure that patients are satisfied with their care.

Facts About Customer Satisfaction

• A good experience is told to 8 people, and bad experience to 22!

• 7 out of 10 patients who change providers do so because of poor service or indifference toward them.

• Satisfying and retaining current patients is 3-10 times cheaper than attracting new patients.

• 70% of complaining patients will return if you resolve the complaint in their favor.

How to Handle a Complaint• If possible, sit at eye level with the

patient.• Take notes on what the patient says. • Ask questions to clarify but DO NOT

be defensive.• Try to understand the problem from

the patient’s point of view.• Thank the patient.

Seek Resolution• If you are the problem – apologize,

and thank the patient for his/her feedback.

• If you need more information, let the patient know you’ll get back to him/her.

• Provide information the patient might be lacking. (Without defending.)

• Try to find a resolution to the satisfaction of the patient.

Service Recovery• Service recovery involves the service

provider taking responsive action to "recover" lost or dissatisfied customers, to alter their negative perceptions, convert them into satisfied customers, and to ultimately maintain a business relationship with them.

Service Recovery• What to do?• Own up to the mistake• Make it right – by:

Apologizing profusely Fixing what you can fix When possible, by providing

reasonable compensation.

Customer Service for ALL Patients

• If you follow the rules for providing excellent customer service for your patients, and you respect your patients’ rights, is there a need to have special strategies for caring for the very young, the very old, or economically disadvantaged patients?

A psychiatrist recommends a 17yr old be admitted to a Mental Health Facility to treat

his depression. The parents refuse. Two weeks later the teen commits suicide. The

psychiatrist has MOST LIKELY violated

A.) Ethical StandardsB.) Legal StandardsC.) Both ethical and legal standardsD.) Neither ethical or legal standards

Janie is frequently late for work. Even when she arrives on time she takes ten minutes to finish applying make-up and

putting up her hair before beginning work. Her behavior MOST LIKELY violates

A.) Ethical StandardsB.) Legal StandardsC.) Both ethical and legal standardsD.) Neither ethical or legal standards

Legal violations and ethical violations

A.) Are both subject to criminal penaltiesB.) differ because legal violations always result in loss of

license, where as ethical violations always result in suspension from duty

C.) differ because legal violations are dealt with in a court of law, whereas ethical violations are dealt with by licensing agencies or professional organizations

D.) differ because only ethical violations must be reported to licensing agencies

What must a healthcare worker do to achieve patient

satisfaction?

A.) Smile and be friendly to the patientB.) Meet the patients expectationsC.) Follow his/her scope of practiceD.) Give the patient as much information as possible about his/her

condition

Guidelines for customer service suggest that a

healthcare worker should

A.) Never share his/her personal problems with the patient

B.) Always greet the patient with a smileC.) Speak using technical professional language

D.) Never, ever disagree with a patient

What physician is MOST LIKELY to be involved in a

lawsuit

A.) A minority physicianB.) A physician who finished in the lowest 10% of their medical

school class

C.) A physician who cares for well educated patients

D.) A physician who is abrupt and a poor listener

You are an ophthalmic technician in a small community office. When

checking out, a patient informs you that she is not coming back to this

office. What should you do?A.) Wish her good luckB.) Ask her to wait while you get the OPtomitrist to talk with her

C.) Ask if something is wrong and if there is as if she will sit down and explain the problem to you

D.) Do nothing because she did not offer to tell youif something was wrong with her care

Nurse O'Conner forgot to properly secure a bed rail causing her patient Roger to fall out of bed and bruise his hip. Nurse O'Conner completed the

report form required by the hospital and filed it 3 months later. What general requirement of incident

reporting did Nurse O'Conner MOST LIKELY violate?

A.) Failure to focus on the factsB.) Failure to ensure prompt reportingC.) Failure to follow hospital policies regarding incident reporting.

D.) Failure to document property damage