In the US alone, there are 1,400 health centers, with 15,000 sites of care, serving more than 31.5M underserved patients, and these patients are mostly uninsured or Medicaid beneficiaries for our nation’s “safety net providers”. Most CHCs are Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) that are statutorily required to survey patients for satisfaction.
While that may be an on-paper reason for collecting feedback on experience and satisfaction, it’s more than that. It’s about the people.
Some of the most committed and compassionate people on earth provide patient care at Community Health Centers (CHCs) in the United States—where over 40,000 are committed to delivering better patient experience and creating healthier communities.
It is because of these tireless workers and the patients that mean so much to them that human-centered experiences are becoming a priority within the industry. This isn’t much of a surprise when you realize that healthcare is all about prioritizing hyper-personalized and effective care for the best outcomes.
The world is changing quickly for CHCs. To ensure that they keep on delivering the best quality of care, they need to understand their patients’ and employees’ needs and expectations. Value-based care pay models are replacing volume-based, fee-for-service models, so like many other healthcare delivery organizations, CHCs will be responsible for delivering the highest quality at the lowest total cost—all while still making sure that they keep care and empathy at the forefront. Partnering with patients and having systems to hear their issues, concerns, and ideas, will be vital to winning in value.
Transforming experiences for patients and employees
To achieve these goals, CHCs must think differently about the way they collect feedback and put it to use. Just surveying patients is not enough to ensure CHC success – healthcare organizations need to go a step beyond, analyzing the data to decode insights that ensure data-backed decisions.
To understand this better, we need to first explore the structure of CHCs and the environment they operate in.
Firstly, the mission of Community Health Centers always includes the pursuit of health equity, providing individuals the best opportunity to reach their highest level of health and addressing significant healthcare barriers that people often face. Some of these barriers include access to health services, food, housing, and transportation. Since each patient’s challenges may be different, the scope of care provided by the CHCs can be quite broad. But health equity cannot be assumed, it can only be confirmed through dialogue and consistent feedback from patients about their needs right now.
Secondly, like all employers, CHCs are experiencing higher turnover leading to care disruptions more often than ever before. Employee expectations are changing as employees need and expect more connection, more flexibility, and more communication than in the past. If your CHC is not regularly surveying its employees, you likely have a blind spot (or more). As a result, the CHC is also probably not building the depth of trust with its employee relationships, impacting employee engagement and even long-term loyalty.
However, this is often the case. Community Health Centers, and their Primary Care Association partners, are notorious for limited budgets and stretched resources. Each member of the workforce wears multiple hats, so taking on time-consuming, resource draining projects is not an option. Keeping this in mind, how can CHCs expand their Patient and Employee Experience programs while being responsible in committing resources?
Curious? Watch our latest webinar on leveraging survey feedback
to improve patient experience!
In today’s business environment, surveys and feedback systems must be a key business driver and not just a check-the-box that helps with meeting a regulatory requirement. Sogolytics can help CHCs achieve these goals while keeping the budget constraints in mind.
Why experience matters in CHCs
What are the benefits of leveling up your patient and employee experience programs? Getting the right insights can help nurture a deeper connections with patients, resulting in increased patient trust, compelling patients to seek care earlier.
Patients will also be more adherent to their treatment plans and better communicate the barriers and challenges they face in approaching CHCs and following through on the course of treatment.
As a consequence, doctors will be able to work with patients to improve healthcare outcomes. Moreover, patients that trust their healthcare providers will also be more diligent, leading to fewer no-show appointments, lesser needs for emergency room visits (owing to proactive care), and a better online reputation for CHCs as patients share their positive experiences online. Not to mention this will lead to significantly improved financial statements, making CHCs being better positioned for risk contracts!
Imagine a CHC with better employee retention rates, a more engaging work culture, and proactive employees who are truly invested in patient success as well as CHC growth. Taking data driven decisions to create meaningful experiences can lead to both patients and employees feeling a deeper connection with your organization, and feel more aligned to your mission.
Ready to discover this for yourself?
Watch our webinar on How to Use Patient Surveys to Deliver More Human-Centered Experiences now! If you’d like to discuss how we can help you with your unique challenges, we’d love to connect!
