Patient Satisfaction as a Healthcare Issue

Patient Satisfaction Issues

The satisfaction of the patients is important when it comes to the improvement of the quality of care provided as well as improvement in terms of the treatment offered.  The patient satisfaction offers critical information on the health providers success towards meeting the expectations of the clients and it is considered to be a key determinant of the patient’s behavioral intentions.  There is a great financial risk which is associated with the provision of care to the various patients and the patient have been personally involved in their health matters in order to optimize the level of care which is provided to them (Xesfingi and  Vozikis, 2016).  The measure of satisfaction of the patients involves directly comparing the services which are provided by the healthcare organization with other health care provided in order to ascertain which organization provided the best services.  The patients are considered to be looking for the best possible overall experience when it comes to the provision of cares. The satisfaction of the patients acts as an important way of attracting as well as retaining the patients when the care prided is effective (Xesfingi and Vozikis, 2016).  When the patients trust the care providers, the ability to attract as well as retain patients is improved and that assist in the maintenance of the patients.   The healthcare leaders face the problem of patient satisfaction and they are to come up with ways which they can use in order to ensure high levels of patient satisfaction within the care centers is improved.

Patient Satisfaction Impacts on the Healthcare Organizations

The reputation of the healthcare organization is highly affected by the patient satisfaction issues and it can make the organizations act in ways which improve the quality of health for the various patients. With the improvement in the provision of health to the various people, the patients take the reputation of the healthcare organizations to be good and that helps in increasing the profitability of the healthcare organizations.

With improved patient satisfaction, more patients will be able to come to the health institutions and that makes the revenues earned by the health care institution to be high. The high revenues which are gained from the institutions assist towards the improvement of the facilities and have more resources. The resources improve the quality of the services and that makes the perception of the patients to be positive on the health organization (Health, 2017).  The treatment of the patients in the healthcare facility and the ways of learning of the patients can be improved and that can be important in making their health better.  The process of transparency which is adopted by the healthcare institution will assist towards the creation of a good reputation and that shows the patients are satisfied with the services which are offered in the organization. With increased transparency in the organization, the patients will be able to see what the other people think about them and that is important in the improvement of the health of the various people (Health, 2017). That makes the patients take the services which are offered by the organization to be effective and it adds the reputation of the organization.  The patients in the healthcare faculties need to trust their providers and they have to become more engaged in the provision of their own care and that makes them have a stronger sense of loyalty towards the services which are offered by the organization.

Causes of the Patient Satisfaction

In order to satisfy the various patients by providing services which they can appreciate easily, it is important to consider the cost and the quality of the medical care which is offered (Getahun and Nkosi, 2017). When the cost of the medical services is affordable most of the patients are satisfied than when the costs are high. The quality of medical care should be high and that is effective towards the creation of satisfaction of the patients.

Interpersonal skills have to be considered in the creation of patient satisfaction since the nurses and the practitioners who have good communication skills make the patients be satisfied with their services (Getahun and Nkosi, 2017). When the practitioners have low social skills, their interpersonal skills are affected and that can lead to lower satisfaction of the patients who are being provided with care.  The competence and the professional recognition of the practitioners can be considered to be another factor which affects the patient’s satisfaction. When the practitioners have a high level of competence and they are recognized for the provision of quality services that makes the patient satisfaction to be high since they are guaranteed quality services.

When the attention provided to the patents is high and the information concerning their health issue is prided in the appropriate manner, the satisfaction of the patients is high and that makes them trust the services which are offered by the health facility. Waiting time can bring various complaints and it can affect the degree of satisfaction of the various patients. When the waiting time is less, the services which are offered are considered to be of high quality since the various patients are satisfied (Getahun and Nkosi, 2017). The physical facilities have to be available and they should be effective in order to provide the intended support to the various workers to satisfy the patients. The receptionist and the nurses in the facility have to be effective and supportive because when they are not supportive, the qualities of services which are provided are deemed to be ineffective to the satisfaction of the patients.

Strategic Solutions Towards Better Patient Satisfaction

In order to improve the satisfaction of the patients, it is important to provide the various services on the schedule of the patients (Al-Abri and Al-Balushi, 2014). The schedule which seems to be convenient for the patients is supposed to be considered in order to assist in the provision of effective care.

The employees in the health organization have to be properly trained on how to handle the various patients in the organization. Effective handling of the patients in the institutions leads to high rates of profitability and high rates of trust. That helps in the intensification of the services which are offered and it assists in the reduction of the customer’s complaints about the services which are offered.

The introduction of new technology in the healthcare facilities is also important since it can assist in the improvement of the level of care to the various patients. The health records are kept safe too and that can assist in the improvement of the services provided. With the various improvements in the services offered, the health facility is improved and that makes the facilities to be considered better (Al-Abri and Al-Balushi, 2014).  The communication within the health facility can be improved and with the increase in the communication, the health facility can be improved further.