Exclusive Article by Jamie Costello at EMRIndustry
It’s may seem rather far fetched considering the major difference in each industry, however, hospitals and the hospitality sector aren’t too dissimilar. In fact, with the increased pressure and importance that hospitals provide to patients, there’s a strong case that the applications of the hospitality environment can be extremely beneficial for hospital practices too. Here’s how hospitals can learn from hospitals to improve patient care in hospitals.
- Always Put The Patient First
One of the prime rules you’ll learn when working in the hospitality industry is that the customer always comes first, and they should always be considered your main priority. The same goes for patients in hospitals. From the get-go, care that is patient centred should be considered the priority. It’ll help to drive results and provide better decision making as a result.
- Staff Actions Matter
The hospitality industry regularly involves face-to-face interaction with customers, the same way healthcare requires doctors and nurses to interact with patients on a regular basis. Having the correct personality is key to being successful in the industry as customers will feel satisfied with the service they’ve been provided. When hiring in the healthcare industry, although expertise is crucial it should also be considered how the individual acts around patients. Staff members that are helpful and friendly are likely to gain better reactions from patients and their attitude is likely to be better in teamwork scenarios too.
- Consider What Patients Value
Part of having good customer service is making sure that you do right by the customer. No matter how small or large the custom you provide might be, they’ll take this into consideration when making judgements of the services provided. The same can be said for services provided in hospitals. Every detail from the hospital food to how warm (or cold) the hospital is will be taken into consideration. Although not every individual can be catered for, it’s beneficial to cater to the majority as best as possible.
- Make Identification Easy For Patients
It can be relatively easy to tear apart which individual does what within the hospitality industry. It would be simple to identify the chef from the cleaner, the manager to the bar staff. This makes it easier for patients to know who they’re speaking to or having communication with. If this benefits the patients, it’s also something that hospitals could adopt.
- Be Responsible In Overflow Situations
Patient care should always be a priority when it comes to overflow situations regardless of whether there are competing hospitals in the surrounding area. Considering some patients may need to be seen more promptly than others, it’s best to be as efficient as possible. So, if a hospital appears to be filling with patients that’s crowding the emergency room, patients could be advised to be sent to a hospital facility where they can be seen and treated quicker. This can help reputation in the long run.
Although each of the industry’s have different purposes, both hospitals and the healthcare industry can adopt methods that will contribute greatly to how they service and look after their customers/patients. The same way the hospitality industry will provide cheaper prices or restaurant deals to attract customers, hospitals can adapt their approach to how they treat patients to ensure that patients enter the hospital more regularly and gain their trust in the long term.
