Key relationships between patient and physician loyalty to focus improvement efforts

Press Ganey announced release of a new white paper, "A Unified Approach to Driving Patient and Physician Loyalty". Press Ganey says the paper (gated) establishes the interdependencies of patient and physician loyalty and offers a practical approach for medical practices, hospitals, and health systems to target areas where improvement is likely to make a meaningful impact in multiple areas of organizational performance.

“Understanding and investing in a culture that promotes loyalty creates a virtuous cycle that positively impacts the safety, quality, and experience of care, while ultimately driving key business objectives to retain and increase market share,” said Patrick T. Ryan, Executive Chairman, Press Ganey, in a statement. “Both are inextricably linked to each other and to the operating and financial success of the organization"

Analyses outlined in the report revealed the following insights:

·   Patients’ perception of caregiver teamwork is the strongest predictor of patient loyalty in the inpatient and medical practice settings.

·   The strongest patient loyalty driver in the emergency department is patients’ perception that the staff cared about them.

·   Feeling respected by their physicians, being treated courteously by both physicians and nurses, and perceiving caregiver responsiveness to their concerns are also strong predictors of patient loyalty.

“Patient experience and physician engagement are both complementary and connected. Recognizing and optimizing the direct relationship between these and other care delivery attributes is critical to accelerating the transformational change that health systems need to thrive in the new competitive marketplace,” said Thomas H. Lee, Chief Medical Officer, Press Ganey.