5 Expectations That Patients Have From Healthcare Professionals Today

Today's patients expect the same convenience from the medical practices they receive from restaurants or other services in the same field. If they do not receive them, they will find another doctor or express their dissatisfaction negatively.

As a healthcare professional, it is to your advantage to be aware of what most patients want to receive. Also, if you want to compete in today's medical field, you need to provide comfort to your patients.

Here are the top 5 things patients expect from their doctor's office.

1. Possibility to schedule online

Patients can order absolutely anything from books to mattresses with just a few clicks on smartphones. Thus, they do not want to waste up to 15 minutes waiting on the phone to talk to either the doctor or his nurse to make an appointment.

More and more medical institutions are facilitating online appointments, and if your institution does not yet offer such services, you could suggest doing so.

2. Communication and empathy

No matter how much time we spend on our phones and how much technology decreases our need for human connection, patients who want the finest treatment will always require a good means to communicate with doctors.

In fact, according to a recent study, almost 60% of people said that doctor-patient relationships and doctor personality were "the most important factors in distinguishing a high-quality doctor."

Patients want to know that their doctors are approachable and concerned about their health. These desires can be addressed through technology - such as patient portals, for example - and with adjustments in physician behavior (because showing empathy can lead to better patient satisfaction, results, and collaboration, and indeed we need to pay attention to it).

In other words, remember that patients are also clients, you can make an effort in some situations to make sure that your patients do not choose to start visiting other healthcare professionals to your detriment.

3. Much shorter waiting time or friendlier waiting rooms

Patients are expected to be received immediately or no later than 15 minutes of waiting at the doctor's office for a scheduled visit. In other words, they do not have to, even though they are scheduled at a certain time, to arrive at the office and wait according to the question "Who is the last person in line for Dr. X?".

If a patient comes to the office, it is assumed that he is in a state of discomfort (in most cases), and the patience to wait in line is minimal.

Also, like doctors who have a very chaotic schedule, the same might be true for patients. To solve the problem, a good option would be to set up an SMS notification system for appointments in situations where they are delayed. This can reduce the number of minutes patients spend outside the office waiting.

In addition, depending on the institution where you work, the waiting rooms should be much friendlier - with Wifi, water, and/or coffee and tea available for patients, not to mention comfortable furniture and room temperature.

4. Quality and duration of the consultation

Patients do not want to feel rushed to the examination room - nor do the doctors. But with new patients flooding the waiting room due to increasing demand or incorrectly estimated schedules, the pressure to slip in as many visits as possible each day is overwhelming.

Patients may realize when their doctor is eager to "take them out" of the office, and this can be extremely annoying when they are sick or scared of a particular problem. Haste can also cause patients to feel anxious that they are not receiving the most appropriate care - all of which could be considered by someone looking for a new doctor.

5. Availability and transparency

Patients do not only get sick between the hours of Monday to Friday, and the medical staff who provide services on weekends also have a lot to gain. Another solution in this regard would be online appointments or emergency calls on weekends if you can not go to the office.

Transparency is also another extremely important criterion for today's patients, especially in terms of availability to see prices. Whether the prices may vary depending on complications, the type of service, the time of appointment, and other factors, these should be mentioned online (most appropriate), where they can be accessed by everyone.