Patient's expectations... Treatment quality?
What is quality of treatment?
Good question, with simple answer. Simple, but not exact answer is "being healthy"
Well, that is correct. But just to certain extent.
Let's define what is quality? Quality has a subjective nature, as there is no objective quality factors for majority of products or services. Generally we might say, that we know what is "good quality".
What is important to remember, the final decision on "was that product of good quality" is made inside of customer's head, and as we know nowadays - the every human is unique, and nobody except him does not know exactly what does he thinking about particular product or service, and what does he expect.
Actually "quality product" is the product, which exceeds or at least meets customer's expectations.
Coming back to medical service, and treatment,
the problem is that in number of treatments and procedures, customer (patient) does not really have adequate expectation about his future after the treatment. As medicine is not an exact science and doctors are not good sellers in majority of cases, as sales is not their job, patient does not getting any information about the expected treatment results, and therefore his quality feeling after the treatment will depend on his own dreams and expectations, based on certain experience in the past. Why quality of treatment issue is so important? There is two reasons: first one based on fact, that psychological conditions of the human affects his physical conditions. Second reason: the happy customer gives to your business a good feedback and improves your reputation among potential customers, thus helping you to attract more patients, and be less price dependent. And finally, if a patient will be happy, isn't it a final goal of your job, as a health care professional?
So, we are, the healthcare professionals have to take much more care about patients education* and managing patient's expectations to help patients be calm, happy and recover faster. * Patient education has to be made in a simple words, which patient may easily understand. It is not easy task, and our goal is to create patient's education materials for different medical fields, and specifically for your practice to improve your service quality and patient satisfaction.
Alex
IOL clinical application and clinical integration expert
since 1996
