Five-Star Patient Experience

Key performance indicators and public reviews continue to be used by individuals and organizations for measuring performance. From gold stars on chore charts for children, to Amazon reviews for books or healthcare reviews for physician performance, the ubiquitous “five-star review” has become a staple in people’s lives in the 21st century.

Better than Average

A “5-star” hotel indicates a hotel’s highest service, amenities, and price worldwide. A “5-star” dining experience indicates a superior gastronomical experience with exceptional attention to detail from greeting to farewell. Receiving a “5-star” experience has consistently indicated that the experience was unparalleled, absolutely exceptional, and noteworthy, but that is a rapidly changing view.

A ”3-star” review on Amazon should indicate an average or good product, with a “5-star” review indicating an exceptional product. As consumers of products and services become savvier with activities that drive reviews, there has been evidence that they distrust only “5-star” reviews and are more trusting of 4.75-star reviews. However, we also know that a business with only three-star reviews will not be perceived as a good place to go. It’s not going to be seen as “average” or “good” — it’s going to be viewed unfavorably.

Average, viewed from a sociological or psychological perspective, is seen as something that needs improvement or is even deficient in today’s high-performance culture. Society has become driven to exceed expectations in all instances. This behavior is not new, but in the past 20 years, there has been a slow transition from 3-stars being acceptable to being something to avoid.

Excellence in Healthcare Organizations

When looking at healthcare practices and organizations, there is an emerging trend of follow-up calls or emails for any review of less than 5-stars from a patient. Why was the office visit not excellent? What can be done to exceed expectations? While these questions are vital to ask to improve any business, it seems to be more urgent in a clinical setting — a business centered on human healthcare should be excellent in all parts of the experience.

As a healthcare practice, receiving a passel of 5-star reviews from happy patients is the gold standard. It assures the healthcare staff that they are engaging, answering questions, being understood, and giving the patient their best. A follow-up call will often clarify to the reviewer what could have been missing from the visit and correct it for other patients in the future.

Public Ratings Make an Impact

Average is no longer good enough, and organizations must strive for exceptional at every interaction. Despite 5-star reviews being important, honesty is also a priority — the patient experience should stay honest within reviews while keeping up with the scaling of today. At Well iQ, every interaction has its own individual rating, and the importance of ensuring that all staff engagement continues to support the 5-star environment is as important as the overall 5-star review.

Customized Feedback and Reviews

Positively impacting patient experience can be a management challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. Well iQ’s unique badging system helps healthcare organizations focus on the areas of patient engagement and staff experience customized to their organizations and goals.