Practice management
Patient experience
Patient experience is how patients rate every contact with a practice, from the first call and the wait to communication, treatment and follow-up.
AHRQ states that patient experience encompasses the range of interactions patients have with the healthcare system, including care from doctors, nurses and staff in physician practices and other facilities. AHRQ's CAHPS program surveys patients on this. It names examples that patients value highly, such as timely appointments, easy access to information and good communication with clinicians and staff. These are different from clinical outcomes. A dental office can look at the same areas: phone handling, schedule access, patient communication and billing clarity. Better experience may help patient retention, but the link should be checked with the practice's own data.