3 Places to Look for Patient Experience Inspiration

Coming up with new ways to freshen up patient experience efforts means looking to other organizations, other cultures, and the arts.

It's easy to get complacent when it comes to improving patient experience.

Unlike a service line campaign or website redesign, there's no defined start or end point, no one set of metrics that can be used to measure results. And it can be difficult to look beyond the most common patient satisfaction-boosters, such as quiet care environments and concierge services, to experiment with innovative measures.

But coming up with new and unique ways to freshen up patient experience efforts is something that should constantly be on every successful hospital marketer's mind.

Sometimes, all it takes is to look outside your organization to get the creative juices flowing. Here are three external resources that may help you find inspiration and get out of the patient experience rut.

1. Glean Ideas from Outpatient Centers

Excelsior Orthopaedics in Buffalo, NY, has introduced an outpatient surgery program that hospitals should note. Some total knee replacement patients can now have their procedure at a surgery center and recover in a hotel suite, where they can enjoy high-end amenities while a nurse cares for them around-the-clock.

The procedure and recovery suite costs a flat fee, which Excelsior says is less than at a hospital. And the region's three major health insurers all cover the outpatient procedure. Patients who have had total knee replacement through the program have had a positive response, so Excelsior is planning on launching an extensive marketing campaign to promote the offering.

"It's been fun to pioneer a revolutionary concept that improves quality, improves the patient experience and saves money at the same time," Excelsior CEO David Uba told the local press.

This program should provide a lot of food for thought for hospital marketers. Because, while there are a number of benefits to having joint replacement surgery in a hospital setting, Excelsior's outpatient option represents the industry-wide shift toward à la carte procedures.

Additionally, growing patient interest in this sort of offering is a valuable insight, especially for organizations looking to set their orthopedic surgery service line apart. Figuring out ways to make inpatient surgery feel a lot more like outpatient would be a key differentiator.

2.Tap Resources from the Community

Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, NJ, is killing two birds with one stone by incorporating community engagement into its patient experience.

The medical center has teamed with Musicians on Call, a New York-based organization that arranges for volunteer musicians to perform for hospital patients in their rooms. When one of the musicians visits the hospital, a volunteer guide brings them around and asks patients if they'd like to hear a song. The musician usually tailors their performance to the patient's preferences.

"Having this music is a gift," Carol Lynn Daly, director of marketing and media relations, told the local media. "To have musicians of this caliber come onto our campus every week has been a joy for everyone here?patients, visitors, staff."

The hospital's musical medicine doesn't stop there?it also has a music "pharmacy" that doles out CDs and headphones to patients and visitors. The program is a savvy way to engage with a unique group of community members and help patients relax.

3. Adapt Amenities Found in Hospitals Abroad

The luxury healthcare market is booming in India, where low costs allow for lavish amenities that hospitals in the U.S. could adapt for patients back home.

A company called ABV Group plans on opening a hospital near Mumbai next year, with Rolls-Royce cars transporting patients around campus. And, over-the-top as it may sound, compared to its competitors that perk isn't out of place?the 450-bed Fortis Memorial hospital near New Delhi has an in-house movie theater and the 575-bed Aster Medcity in Kerala boasts private patient rooms with warm lighting and hardwood floors akin to a luxury hotel.

While many these features are unrealistic for hospitals in the U.S., they're still a good source of inspiration for potential patient experience improvements. Sure, a Rolls-Royce is extreme, but maybe your hospital's shuttle drivers can be trained to give patients that luxury car experience while driving them in their van.

And, while most U.S. hospitals couldn't spare the space or expense for a movie theater, it may be worth investing in a projector to screen films in a common area as a treat for patients who are well enough to leave their rooms.