Academy of Marketing Studies Journal (Print ISSN: 1095-6298; Online ISSN: 1528-2678)

Abstract

Is Patient Experience the New Normal in Healthcare Sector?

Author(s): Madasu Mallika Rao, Udaya Shankar, Madasu Bhaskara Rao and Veerapaneni Lohitha

The term "patient experience" refers to all the contacts patients have with the healthcare system, including how they are treated by insurance companies, physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals working in clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. When seeking and receiving care, patients place a high value on several characteristics of health care delivery. These include getting timely appointments, having simple access to information, and having effective communication with medical professionals. The term "patient satisfaction," as it has been used up until now, refers to how satisfied patients are with their healthcare, both within and outside of the doctor's office. Patient satisfaction is a gauge of the calibre of the care received and offers medical professionals information about several medical issues, including the efficiency of their treatment and their degree of empathy. Although they are not the same thing, the terms patient satisfaction and patient experience are sometimes used synonymously. To evaluate patient experience, it is necessary to ask patients whether or how frequently things that ought to occur in a medical environment (such as good communication with a clinician) did. The stakeholders in the healthcare industry do not fully comprehend the patient experience, a new norm in the industry. Few hospitals are aware of the difference between patient satisfaction and patient experience. As a result, they disregard the requirement to offer a satisfying patient experience as a best practice in hospitals. The patient experience is the focus. It is concentrated on achieving the objectives and goals of the hospital, which will result in financial success and enhance the institution's reputation. In general, clinical care processes including core measures compliance, readmission rates, safety culture surveys, and quality measures tend to yield higher ratings for hospitals with greater patient experience scores (Jha et al, 2008; Bardach et al, 2013; Abrahamson et al, 2016 & Stein et al, 2015). Experience with patients is here to stay. This review article discusses the measurement of patient experience as well as the philosophical underpinnings of recent patient experience research. It seeks to determine whether the patient experience—which focuses on how people interact with healthcare services—is the new standard.

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