Customer service was and is an imperative arm of practically every organization in every sector. Be it the 1900s or 21st century paradigm, the firms and companies around the world always had the realization that everything they do need to be consumer centric. All the decisions taken behind the closed quarters by handful of people are geared towards providing the best for the customers for the simple reason that customer is the maker or breaker. And possibly the most important sector which has recently gone full stream when it comes to rendering customer service aspect is Healthcare Sector.
Healthcare sector is not about clients or customers. It is about helping out people rather than treating them as a source of income in absolute terms. A healthcare company as well as the patient connected with it has life depended on the quality of customer service and the communication channel established between the staff members and patients. So, let us take a look how healthcare customer service plays a pivotal role in not just establishing goodwill for a healthcare company in the market but also how it can bridge the gap between the maladies of patients and the necessary treatment in a streamlined way –
Healthcare customer service=Quality care
An organization might have the best of the brains in the operation theaters and the most assiduous of helping staff, but if the customer service is falling short on the expectations, then the quality of healthcare will deteriorate automatically. If a patient is not able to reach out to the necessary resources (in this case doctors and nurses) in time, then not only they feel dejected but also the healthcare company ends up doing a great disservice to itself and the profession. Healthcare customer service ensures that the needs and ways to deliver on those needs are brought together in a perfect harmony by unifying the medical care with patients wants.
A happy patient means a great doctor-patient relationship
A patient which experiences a world class care thanks to healthcare customer service will likely to approach the same doctor and staff or encourage its family and friends to do so. The very essence of a great doctor-patient relationship starts with providing unparalleled customer service right from the time a patient rings in to the time he or she is discharged.
A lackadaisical approach is dangerous
Absence of good customer service in healthcare organization means some serious underlying problems. A casual approach towards the patient, incompetent staff unable to understand the urgency of situation that can arise in a medical condition, disjointed aspects of customer service which impedes the progress of treating the patient; a failure to deliver good medical care can be due to one of these reasons or combination of all. A due diligence in Healthcare customer service is therefore can make all the difference between life and death.
It is all about the data
Medical field relies heavily on the reports and the numbers in respect of the vital stats of a patient. Getting the data wrong means playing with a life! A great customer service is the very first line of defense against such grave mistakes. By channeling the data from paper to the hands of doctors, healthcare customer service ensures that a patient is able to undergo the best possible healthcare.
SO HOW TO PROVIDE A GOOD HEALTHCARE CUSTOMER SERVICE?
Selection– The very first touch point for a patient and healthcare company relation is the options of services and products that he or she needs to address his or her issues. A good customer service platform ensures that a holistic view of the kind of services and products a company offers is at an easy disposal for the users.
Appointment- Once the patient has made the necessary selection; the next step is scheduling an appointment so that engagement between the doctor and patient can begin. It is at this stage, an efficient Healthcare customer service platform is able togauge the urgency of the needs of a patient, try to minimize the waiting time to schedule an appointment as well as provide appointment confirmation not just on calls but also via email along with a reminder a few days prior to the appointment.
Delivery
Appointment has been acknowledged the moment a patient walks in. From here, the promise of delivering top-notch medical service begins. Allotment of doctor, allotment of rooms, information about doctor visiting hours, information about have and have not related to food consumption, information related to test during the course of admission, all this information should be readily available with the patient and it is duty of Healthcare customer service to fulfill it.
Post-appointments follow up
Once the patient has rendered the medical services, the very next step is to ensure he or she is able to sustain good health and not relapse discharged. A simple email regarding feedback of services or a few minutes over the phone can establish a personal connection with the patient and address any doubt regarding post treatment care he or she needs to keep in mind. A good Healthcare customer service ensures all these aspects to be carried out by a medical organization in a simplified and an effective way.
There is no denial that customer service has now become a deep rotted aspect of practically every industry we encounter in our daily life. And healthcare industry which is revered as a pious arm of our society has begun to embrace Healthcare customer service aspect of delivery medical facility to the patient. It will be interesting to see how it evolves in the near future so that the patients can get quicker and more refined medical care which they deserve.
