emergency department patient satisfaction: customer service training improves patient satisfaction and ratings of physician and nurse skill/practitioner response

A visit to the emergency department (ED) is usually associated with negative thoughts by most people. It creates preconceived images of overcrowded waiting rooms and routine long waits for treatment (Jarousse, 2011). From 1996 to 2006, ED visits increased annually from 90.3 million to 119.2 million (32% increase). During this same time period, the number of EDs has declined by 186 facilities creating the age old lower supply and greater demand concept (Crane & Noon, 2011). There are many contributing factors that have led to an increase in ED visits. A few of these key drivers include lack of primary care access, rising of the uninsured population, dwindling mental health services, and the growing elderly

“Patient satisfaction is undoubtedly on the minds of hospital administrators in an increasingly consumer-driven healthcare system. With patient

Customer service levels should be the highest priority of any health-care organization. Trying to balance between the increasing demand and supply of health care arenas,

(Mann, 2014, p.2) These strategies include: broadening access to primary care services; focus on individuals who frequently utilize the emergency department (super-utilizers); and targeting the needs of individuals with behavioral health problems. (Mann, 2014, pp 2-4) Many resources and processes have been implemented in order to help decrease inappropriate emergency department visits. This paper is going to demonstrate some resources and processes that are in place to help individuals obtain health care at the appropriate health care setting.

14 million Canadians visit Emergency Departments (ED) every year, and also reported to having the highest use of EDs (Ontario Hospital Association, 2006). ED overcrowding in Canada has become an epidemic. ED overcrowding has been defined as “a situation in which the demand for emergency services exceeds the ability of an (emergency) department to provide quality care within acceptable time frames” (Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, 2014). This has been an ongoing problem across Canada. Ontario has developed an initiative to reduce ED wait times by implementing a variety of strategies and collaborating with other institutions. This paper describes the Emergency Room National Ambulatory Intuitive (ERNI), an

patient and family satisfaction could go a long way to advance the quality of patient care throughout the hospital.

Quality of service should be one of the most important and well monitored goals for any medical facility, from your small town family doctor’s office, to nursing and rehabilitation facilities, all the way to large hospital systems. The quality of service provided in a facility doesn’t just affect the patients. Quality of service also affects the bottom line, or whether or not the hospital system is profitable. In order to better access the system’s current quality of service and to devise improvement plans I would need to explore issues that have significant effect on quality of care such as, patient satisfaction and retention, medical errors

According to the survey, our patients didn’t enjoy their experience before their appointment. 73% of patients said that the receptionist did not greet them immediately. I know this was the case when I walked in for my meeting. The receptionist was on her phone texting instead of being aware of patients that could potentially be walking into the facility. Although the receptionist doesn’t greet them right away, 67% of people agree she was respectful and courteous. However, the biggest issue lies with patients not understanding the co-pay and possibility of additional costs. This is a problem that can be fixed easily, we just need to retrain our receptionists to greet each patient with a warm smile, and how to fully explain the costs that patients are required to pay. The receptionist play an important role in customer service, therefore they must be at the top of their game at all times. In order to fix the overall patient experience at our urgent care facility, I think we need to send out more surveys and bring back the follow-up calls. The follow up calls are important because patients will be able to express any concerns they had with their visit and we would be able to

This is especially important in the healthcare system because all service should start with a smile. One should exhibit customer service in the healthcare system by demonstrating common courtesy, creating or controlling the proper environment, and even becoming the patient in order to best serve and understand their needs no matter the circumstance or presuming attitude. Customer service is just as important as the treatment process and both should be shown in a professional, pleasant, and responsible manner. The better the customer service, the more customer satisfaction, which retains patients and can also contribute to their health and attitude.

Hospitals and insurance providers alike as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are aiming to measure the value of health care (Morris, Jahangir, & Sethi, 2013). Improving patient satisfaction not only enhances the care a patient receives overall but it can have a major impact on a hospital’s reputation and financial results as well (Hall, 2008).

Healthcare has become a consumer driven industry with patient satisfaction equating to good customer service. Effective communication has been shown to be a key factor in both patient outcomes and satisfaction. Additionally, patient satisfaction has become a tool used by insurers to evaluate medical facilities and may impact reimbursement to hospitals for patient care. In this paper, I will discuss the issue of ineffective communication in the waiting area of the surgical services department at Mount Carmel East Hospital. The impact of ineffective communication effects patients and members of the perioperative team. Results of patient surveys

Customer services is a very important part of managing ongoing client/patient relationships, because they are the key to bringing in revenue. The concept of customer service is to deliver outstanding services so the customers will have a great experience. I currently work in the healthcare industry and the company that I work for is starting to have trainings and meetings to improve customer service to our clients to help increase our patient satisfaction levels. There are some employees who strive to help the patient by going far and beyond their line of duties, and as others are burned out and feel like they just need to get the patient in and out without really understanding the patient’s needs or

The call centre of the Eastern Medical Faculty Foundation, hereafter referred to as EMFF, provides a competitive advantage to the Internal Medicine Department of the Chicago School of Medicine through the delivery of efficient and high quality service to patients. Treating patients generates revenue the Internal Medicine Department and contributes to investments in research in the highly competitive healthcare sector. Unfortunately, declining customer satisfaction, as evidenced in a growing number of customer complaints, suggests the quality of service is deteriorating and threatens the very competitive advantage of the EMFF.

Customer service is developed by the patient’s satisfaction and the effect it has on the health care system. Customer service is the face of every business and specially the health care system which it provides leaders with an idea of how the business should look or act. The healthcare systems benefit from the opportunities made by patients. Patients should be the instrument to provide guidance while the physician advocates for the patient’s health. Customer service is a support system between the patient and the physician and without that support system then there is not guidance for a better lifestyle for patients. This is a competitive market that have a few limitations and those limitations start with customer service in healthcare and how to provide the best care for patients. These challenges that the healthcare system face will overcome those obstacles and bring out their best principles to make the system better. Patient centered care relates to customer service and should be recognized as the central focus. High- quality healthcare systems provide satisfaction to patients to show that their experience will be well worth it because their physicians care about their patient’s health.

A healthcare organization’s reputation for its commitment to quality and patient-centered customer service stands as the main criteria for individuals in choosing a healthcare service provider (Stavins,2006). “Therefore, measurement of patient satisfaction and incorporating results to create a culturewhere service is deemed important should be a strategic goal for all healthcare organizations”(Stavins,