In today’s healthcare industry, patient feedback and patient testimonials are a critical component of marketing efforts. It is important for any facility to create a patient-centered environment where patients feel confident that they will receive the best care possible. In this blog post, we will discuss how patient surveys can help your dental clinic improve patient experience and satisfaction.
What is Patient Satisfaction?
Patient satisfaction is a patient’s overall impression of the quality and delivery of healthcare services. The goal for any patient care provider should be to provide an experience that will meet or exceed each patient’s expectations, as well as one which they would recommend to their family and friends. In order to accomplish these goals, patient feedback surveys are necessary because it allows healthcare providers to identify issues and areas of improvement.
What are the Benefits of Patient Surveys?
There are many benefits to patient surveys, which is why they have become such an important part of the patient experience.
Some key benefits include:
- Improvement in patient satisfaction scores
- Identification of areas that need improvement
- Improved communication between patient and provider
- Identification of patient’s needs and preferences
- Improvement in patient outcomes
How Can Patient Surveys Help My Dental Clinic?
Patient surveys can help your dental clinic by providing you with feedback from your patients. This information can be used to improve patient satisfaction, communication, and care. Additionally, patient surveys can help to identify a patient’s needs and preferences, which can help your dental clinic to better meet patient demands.
How to Gather Patient Surveys and Testimonies
There are several ways that you can gather patient feedback from surveys. First, you can use an electronic patient experience survey software. This entails using different online tools to generate a survey that you can text or email to patients after their appointment is over.
Another way to gather patient feedback is using post-appointment phone calls. Task an employee with your clinic to call patients a day or two after their appointments to ask how their experience with your clinic and their treatment went.
It is important to note that each patient will have different preferences, so patient surveys should be given in a way that is most convenient for them.
Sharing Patient Feedback
When you get a positive review for your clinic and want to share it, there are a few steps you need to take. First, get written permission from your patient to post and share their review to your website and social media. Once you have permission to share their testimonial, you can then move forward with sharing the review. Before you post, be sure to ask yourself these questions:
- Are there any identifying patient details that could potentially harm the patient’s privacy?
- Will including this patient review help or hurt my clinic’s reputation?
- Is the language in this patient review appropriate for my website and social media platforms?
Once it’s determined to move forward with the review, then proceed to add it to a testimonial page on your website and share on your social media platforms.
Why Patient Feedback is an Important Marketing Tool
One of the most important aspects of patient feedback is that it can be used as a marketing tool. When you get positive reviews from your patients, you can use them to generate word-of-mouth advertising and attract new patients to your clinic. Additionally, using patient feedback in your online and print advertising can help to legitimize your business and show potential patients that you are a credible clinic.
When it comes to the quality and delivery of healthcare services, the goal for any patient care provider should be to provide an experience that is patient-focused and patient-centered. By obtaining patient feedback, you can identify areas of improvement that will ultimately help to increase patient satisfaction and improve patient outcomes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Shane Porter of Premier Dentistry of Eagle is an Idaho native and has over fifteen years of dental experience. Dr. Porter has skillfully performed thousands of surgeries. Graduating at the top of his class at Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry, he earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree while amassing many academic and clinical awards.
Additionally, he served as an officer in the United State Army Dental Corps where he completed a two-year advanced surgical education and general dentistry residency. Dr. Porter is board certified by the American Board of General Dentistry, a distinction earned by only 1% of all dentists in America. He has also earned his Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry.
