Customer Service and Improving Patient Experience

As part of the CAHPS® Coaching program, our goal is to help you deliver an exceptional patient experience.

With every patient visit, your goal should be to accomplish the following:

Be courteous, respectful and helpful, listen carefully, provide understandable explanations, and spend ample time with each patient.

How can you achieve these goals and improve the patient experience?

With our CAHPS® Coaching programs four effective communication tools.

The first is an industry best practice known as AIDET®, which is an effective tool you can use to connect with patients, providers, and peers.

Acknowledge: greet the patient, make eye contact, and smile.

Introduce: say your name and what you’ll be doing for the patient.

Duration: provide a time expectation and what the next steps will be.

Explanation: explain what you are doing for the patient.

Thank: thank the patient and show them your gratitude for choosing your organization.

The second, listening to the entire patient’s story even though you have a general idea of the reason for their visit.

According to a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, physicians give patients an average of 11 seconds to explain the reasons for their visits.

In most cases, that is not enough time for the patient or their family members to explain why they came to see you.

Third, the Teach Back Method confirms a patient’s understanding of what is being explained to them.

If your explanation is easy to understand, the patient should “teach back” the information to you accurately.

Lastly, by using an after-visit summary giving written instructions to the patient.

Circle or highlight important information with clear instructions and include it in their patient portal.

By using these CAHPS® Coaching program tools, you can deliver an exceptional experience – every interaction, every time!

For more information on improving CAHPS® performance and the CAHPS® Coaching program, contact us today.

Build stronger relationships with your patients and co-workers

and increase engagement of patients, providers, and employees.

Working together makes us strong,

so we can be here for your patients and our members when they need us—now and always.