Theme Parks Can Teach Healthcare Systems About Patient Experience

Beyond a good bedside manner, consistent record keeping, robust contingency plans, well-supported staff and strong end-to-end engagement all play a role in crafting the ideal patient experience, according to an article on the Mobi Health News website.

Each of these components become harder as a system’s operations grows.

heme parks have many of the same challenges that healthcare has. Themed entertainment, resorts, destination retail — all of these situations try to create ‘immersive transformative experiences,' … and I can’t think of anything more immersive and transformative than an episode of healthcare,” Dr. Steven Merahn, chief medical officer at Centria Healthcare said in the article. 

“Healthcare, like a museum, zoo or aquarium, is in the game of informal education, because we’re trying to get patients, their families, their caregivers, their communities to learn and integrate some really challenging content,” Cynthia Sharpe, principal of cultural attractions and research at experience design agency Thinkwell Group, said.

“If I’m a parent and I’m terrified in a doctor’s office with my two-year-old who’s not breathing well, and the doctor tells me ‘Your kid has asthma,’ we’re expecting that parent to suddenly learn and assimilate and act on really complicated information.” 

New business challenges brought by the pandemic, have lead healthcare facilities to increase focus on  patient experience efforts, according to an article on the Becker’s Hospital Review website.

Facilities are working on increasing access to care and deliver a better-than-expected service.

Hospital marketing teams are focusing on promoting brand awareness and addressing patient fears by stressing that their facilities are safe and open for services.

One challenge is that data usually used to inform patient experience decisions, like HCAHPS scores and post-visit surveys, aren't useful against poor experiences before they happen.  

Read the full Mobi Health article.