5 Patient Experience Tools to Enrich the Patient Experience

Patient experience plays a vital role in the future of healthcare, and to stay ahead of the curve in this evolving industry, Trusts must find innovative ways to offer value-based care to patients. 

Different patient experience tools can offer the support you need to kick-start this innovation. This blog discusses the top five patient experience tools, outlining their benefits and examples of how they’ve enriched patients’ experiences so far.

1. Real-time patient surveys
2. Remote appointment scheduling
3. Access to online education
4. Language services
5. Patient entertainment systems
   
   
   

1. Real-time patient surveys

Patient surveys can be used to collect critical patient feedback. With this feedback at your disposal, your Trust can understand the needs of your patients and implement initiatives to meet these needs. 

One of the critical benefits of patient surveys is that they allow your patients to offer their opinions in real time. They can inform you about specific examples and suggestions, ensuring you can adjust to better care for the individual. 

The goal of these surveys is to allow healthcare providers to better understand what happens to patients during their care journey as it’s happening rather than receive a retrospective summary weeks after the fact.

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust uses patient surveys to identify what’s working well and make reactive changes to improve patient experience, including the friends and family test and inpatient surveys.

Today’s surveys are much more than pen and paper and can be integrated with engagement systems within a hospital. This means they reach a wider audience and ensure staff time is not consumed by distributing paper, collecting responses, or reissuing surveys with food or drink stains, helping their overall efficiency.

2. Remote appointment scheduling

According to the 2023 GP patient survey, 23.4% of patients said they’d used online services to book appointments in the last 12 months - an increase of 0.3% compared with 2022.

Remote appointment scheduling also offers much more flexibility to patients. Now more than ever, people want convenience. If they’re given the option to book their next appointment from the comfort of their own home, it’s most likely that they will.

Remote appointment schedules also extend expert healthcare to remote locations, overcoming the geographical issues many rural patients face. North and Mid Hampshire Integrated Care Partnership is an example of a Trust that has successfully implemented remote appointment scheduling to meet the needs of its patients.

Read their case study to find out more.

3. Access to online education

Person-centred care is an approach that aims to support people in developing the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to manage and make informed decisions about their health and care more effectively.

This approach to care is an effective way to improve patient experience because it makes people feel empowered and more involved with their health journey.

Some other benefits include:

• Save patients’ time and money: Allowing people to manage their own condition can reduce the number of appointments they need to attend physically.
• Increased control: Helping people understand their condition can empower them to ask questions and tell healthcare professionals what they want.
• Improved outcomes: Recognising when symptoms are worsening and knowing what to do and when to get help can reduce a patient’s risk of serious complications.

As patients look to manage their own health, Trusts must offer them the right level of education. This can be done by increasing your presence on social media platforms, sending out regular newsletters to your patients and making educational videos and resources accessible on engagement platforms.

4. Language services

A significant proportion of the UK population does not have English as their first language. By communicating with patients ethnically appropriately, you can build trust with them and increase overall satisfaction, safety and efficiency. 

While it’s impossible to accommodate all of the languages in the world, technology is making it much easier for language companies by gradually expanding linguistic division. 

Language tools allow medical staff and patients to speak in turn on a live audio call with a qualified interpreter in the language of choice. This facilitates a clear understanding of conversation, whether it’s regarding procedural consent, diagnosis and the development of treatment plans. 

The service also operates 24 hours a day, so you can rely on instant access to interpreters, even in emergencies.

5. Patient entertainment systems

Entertainment systems are vital to ensure patients have a positive experience during their time in care. Hospitals can be lonely and tedious, so having free 24/7 access to entertainment can alleviate these struggles. 

The right patient entertainment system can provide access to a range of entertainment and engagement opportunities, including:

• Newspapers & magazines
• Radio and hospital radio
• TV, movies & streaming
• Games
• Video calling
• And so much more

Some entertainment systems also have other functionalities. An example of this is patients being able to send specific requests to staff.  Using the screen on their bed, they can send a request directly to the required staff member, reducing inefficiency and giving healthcare professionals more time to complete other work commitments.

Patient engagement systems can integrate with clinical solutions, allowing clinicians to show their patients key health information.

Providing patients with this information allows them to understand their health journey and offer the autonomy to make important decisions about their health. Supporting patients to be actively involved in their healthcare journey has proven to boost patient safety and satisfaction while making better use of hospital resources. 

Staff can also use this system to access patient records and clinical systems, making the process smoother and more efficient.

Learn more about patient experience and what the future holds for the healthcare industry

From insight into the current landscape of patient experience to factors your organisation should look to improve by 2025, our guide covers all the topics related to patient experience and the future of healthcare.

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