Providing a better patient experience without the waiting room
As hospitals and health clinics are striving to make their facilities more accessible, more personable and more efficient, one health system is doing just that by taking a large source of stress out of the equation - the waiting room.
While a waiting room seems like an integral part of any medical center, Mark Laney, CEO of Heartland Health commented that the most apparent item creating discomfort for his patients was the waiting room. Having to wait around doctors' and nurses' schedules is to be expected, albeit frustrating, but what other choice is there? The answer is to eliminate that downtime.
Upon entering a Heartland Health clinic featuring this advanced model, patients are greeted by a navigator, not a receptionist, and are handed a tablet device fully equipped with music, magazines and the ability to settle copays online should there be a delay.
Centering on the patient. Enhancing the patient experience and receiving glowing satisfaction scores is the impetus for the innovation. The effort is to efficiently and pleasantly move patients in and out of the clinic around a 45 minute window. It's a new transformation of the patient experience to put patients at ease which lowers stress for everyone.
Other health systems have progressed their models of care with similar approaches as well. Upon entering Kirkland Clinic in Seattle, patients head directly to the receptionist who points them to a waiting room. This no-wait strategy is afforded by doctors and nurses working in a highly collaborative effort and with the help of medical assistants to oversee patient care and flow.
Whether the waiting room is removed from the equation entirely is dependent upon the management and strategy the medical center has in place. However, giving patients personalized options to make waiting not really seem like waiting will bode well for enhancing satisfaction.
