Authored by: Tim Anderson
Receiving a referral from your doctor and visiting a practice with little to no research is a process rooted in the past. Most practices know that even with a referral in hand, the patient’s next stop is likely the internet.
Research shows that 77% of patients use online reviews as their starting point for finding a new practitioner, and 84% say they wouldn’t visit a referred physician who has four stars or less.
Online reviews have been important for some years, but as AI evolves, I’d argue they’re about to become even more critical. Google recently launched its generative search experience, which scrapes the web for relevant information about a search query and summarizes it at the top of search results.
As we move forward, it’s possible that patient reviews could experience a similar form of AI-powered curation, which will place even greater emphasis on positive comments. If you’re looking for creative ways to increase patient satisfaction and foster more five-star reviews, focusing on a few targeted areas can help.
How to improve patient satisfaction among those with financial worries
A record number of patients are putting off healthcare due to rising expenses, such as housing, utilities, and groceries. Research shows that price transparency and financial experiences are key as patients decide when and where to seek care.
A Gallup poll found that 17% of U.S. adults report they know before receiving their healthcare products or services how much they will cost. Ninety-five percent believe healthcare organizations should make costs more transparent before providing care.
With rising concerns about the cost of care, financial transparency is an impactful way to target improvement in the patient experience. One way of doing that is by creating systems that allow patients to know exactly what they owe prior to service, and then creating simple options for them to digitally pay.
Creating easier experiences to win more positive reviews
Older generations grew up balancing a checkbook, receiving paper bills, and writing physical checks. These processes are foreign to younger generations, and many don’t even have checkbooks. That makes it a terrible inconvenience to pay paper bills, and these complaints can surface in your online reviews.
Interestingly enough, it’s not only younger generations demanding more effortless financial experiences. We often see patients in their 60s preferring digital payment options, and we have seen that preference even among patients in their 80s. Many reasons might exist for this, some related to caretakers of older generations shifting to digital payment preferences.
However, making it easy for patients to pay balances at any point in the process of receiving care is important to encourage positive reviews.
Removing friction from the patient experience
One of the best ways to foster a positive online presence is to focus on points of friction in your patient experience. Where do patients encounter difficulty with your practice? Once you define those areas, you can proactively target them.
If patients complain about not receiving a bill until months after service, could you offer payment options earlier in that cycle? If they complain about lost mail and antiquated processes, could you allow them to pay via text message? It’s about defining where patients run into problems, finding efficient solutions, and organically fostering more positive reviews.
With AI evolving quickly, we don’t know exactly what the future will look like. However, since patients will likely still consider peer reviews important, it’s realistic to expect the evolution to include making that process easier.
Do you need help improving the patient experience?
We can support you with speeding up the revenue cycle and creating easier financial experiences that foster more positive patient experiences.