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Do you know the common misconceptions in patient satisfaction?

The pulse of healthcare is now moving into a swing that smells like an Evolution, rather than a revolution. Everyone I speak to is starting to grasp the idea of ‘people power’ and frame it in the context of the healthcare system.

I hear words like patient satisfaction, patient experience, consumer engagement, patient-centred care and an evolutionary term – ‘Patient and Family Centred Care’. The latter is very appropriate as we often forget that children and critically ill patients have no voice for them, and it is the families that act as their voices. I can relate as this happened when my late father passed away in a hospital only 4 months ago.

Nevertheless, I am encouraged by these trends. Whilst many of these terms effectively mean the same thing, it is great to see these metrics embedded in the very fabric and Key Performance Indicators of many of our hospitals and primary care networks.

Watch the video of Australian 1st Real-Time Patient Feedback technology with Emotion analytics

However, not everyone feels this way. I hear objections from Chief Executives, Chief Financial Officers and other financially oriented personnel who do not believe in investing time or money in such initiatives as they perceive them to cost more money and don’t result in any savings or efficiencies.

I also hear objections from some clinicians and healthcare professionals who feel that this is the ‘soft, wishy-washy’ stuff that has no bearing on clinical outcomes for patients.

Both these sentiments are actually unfounded and incorrect.

It is in fact these sentiments and thought patterns that drive increased costs and poorer outcomes as these leaders cannot see the big picture of how change and improvement in healthcare really happens.  

 As a passionate advocate on innovation and patient-centred improvements, I searched globally for a proven solution that can help hospital and community health organisations in Australia (and now Asia) better engage with their patients, clients and consumers and solve many of the challenges they currently experience.

To learn more about this innovation, click here for the video of the MES Experience Debut at Australian Healthcare Week. Hope you enjoy it enough to share with your like-minded colleagues.

About the Author: Dr Avnesh Ratnanesan

Dr Avi is a medical doctor with broad healthcare sector experience including hospitals, biotech, pharmaceuticals and the wellness industry. He is a leading expert who coaches and consults to senior executives, entrepreneurs, practitioners, organisations and governments.