Adding 'Family' into the Patient Experience

Whether you are a nurse, a doctor, a biller, a coder, a receptionist, office manager, and the list goes on, every single one of you plays an important role in the lives of patients and their families. This realization hit home for me this week as I spend time with my dad and family as his battle with cancer comes to an end.

Since late December, I have had the opportunity first hand to witness the power of the patient experience. I have noted awesome interactions and not so awesome ones. I have experienced the communication touchpoints that occur between a practice and a patient and his family. And it got me thinking, we talk a lot about the patient experience, but maybe we should talk about the ‘family experience’ too.

Our family has had countless calls with insurance staff, billers, nurses, doctors, administrators, patient education coordinators and too many other roles to mention. It’s been an emotional journey and we have had a lot of questions. Tough questions to answer. Answers maybe we don’t want to hear. When you think about it, it’s a pretty awesome role you play in helping the family too -- an important point to hit home with every employee in your office. Here’s to providing both an awesome Patient and Family Experience.