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How Experience Spurs Even Lazy, Passive Patients into Action

 |  By HealthLeaders Media Staff  
   October 14, 2009

I write about patient experience a lot. This week, I have a real-life example of why patient experience matters—perhaps even more than loyalty, location, quality, cost, or brand awareness.

I've been going to the same two hospitals for tests and procedures for several years now. They're in my primary care physician's network and when her office sets up appointments for me, those are the two choices they present. There's not a huge difference between the two.

Both locations are convenient—less than a 15 minute drive from my home. Plenty of parking. The both have valet service, which I've only used once when I was running late and it was raining. Both buildings are old and difficult to navigate, so that's a wash, too.

I have not been diligent about researching quality or cost data for either, except that when CMS posted hospital HCAHPS scores online I looked at their scores. Today, I couldn't tell you what the numbers were if you paid me. And if I wasn't a healthcare reporter, I doubt I would have bothered looking them up in the first place.

Finally, although the health system to which these two hospitals belong has a well-known name, the brand doesn't hold any particular sway with me one way or the other.

If I sound a little passive and lazy, well, it's because when it comes to choosing hospitals for routine procedures, I am a little passive and lazy. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

So why did I recently take time out of my busy day and make several phone calls to cancel an appointment at one of my two usual hospitals and make an appointment and transfer my records to a hospital that's a 30-minute drive from my house? I've never set foot in the facility. I don't know anything about its quality rankings and have no idea how expensive or inexpensive they are compared to the other two hospitals I've been going to. And although the hospital is affiliated with a large, well-known Boston healthcare institution, its brand name didn't influence my decision, either.

So what did influence my decision?

I heard it's a really nice hospital.

Seriously—that's all there is to it. People I know told me that the new building is modern and beautiful. Although it is a new facility, it already has a local reputation as being state-of-the-art and patient-centered. I've even heard it's female-friendly, although I no longer remember where I heard that. I'm not 100% sure what that even means, actually. But, as a female, going to a female-friendly facility seems like something I might like.

When I called to make my appointment, the woman I spoke to was friendly, courteous, and helpful. When she said I had to call my doctor and then call her back, she apologized for that minor inconvenience and gave me her direct line so I wouldn't have to wait on hold. She gave me my personal health record number—something no one from either of the other two hospitals ever mentioned—and let me know that if I used it in the future, it would make it easier to make appointments and get information.

I was a little skeptical that my records would really be there on the day of my appointment (based, by the way, on my experiences at the other two hospitals—when I would show up for an appointment, it sometimes seemed as though the staff had no idea who I was or what I was doing there). She assured me my records would not get lost in the transfer and that even if there was a mishap they would straighten it out immediately—it's all done electronically, she said.

She followed up with a note that arrived at my home two days later letting me know what to expect on the day of my appointment and giving my very clear directions to the facility.

And that is all it took for me to switch hospitals—the promise of a better experience. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if they deliver on that promise. And, if not, what I'll do about it. Is it possible the hospitals closer to my home could woo me back? Probably not. Is it possible they can improve the patient experience to the point where they stop losing even their most passive patients to the beautiful new facility a couple towns over?

Absolutely. And so can you. But you'd better get started now.

I'm writing my column earlier than usual this week because I'm headed off to our two events in Chicago—the HealthLeaders Media Marketing Experience 09 and HealthLeaders Media 09: Hospital of the Future Now. The marketing event will be a day-long learning experience with a focus on real ways that healthcare marketers and leaders can execute excellent experiences for their patients, family members, and employees. At the leadership event, I'll be moderating a live discussion about patient experience with an all-star panel of experience experts as well as breakout group sessions on the topic.

I hope to see you there, but if you can't make it, I'll also be blogging and Twittering from the events, so make sure to follow me on Twitter and on the MarketShare blog.


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