Cases have gone down, and vaccination efforts have increased. Despite this, healthcare facilities should review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for managing healthcare operations during the pandemic. But these guidelines focus mainly on planning, preparation, and management of operations in case another crisis emerges before the pandemic is over.
When it comes to patient care, these facilities should focus on ensuring the patients are well cared for while they are in the facility. They should also make the necessary adjustments if the patients feel uncomfortable with their stay in the facility. Here are some ways for healthcare facilities to know how they can improve their care for their patients.
Communicate with the Patients
The first thing that healthcare facilities should do is to ask their staff to talk to the patients. They can introduce themselves when they enter the patient’s room or before they check or treat the patient. With this, the patient may feel comfortable when they are interacting with the person taking care of him. Healthcare facilities can also use a whiteboard to put the names of the team taking care of the patient.
Connecting with the patient allows the staff to know if the patient needs anything to make his stay more comfortable. The staff should listen to the concerns of the patient and make sure they feel respected. Listening to them and responding appropriately can ease any fears and concerns that the patient may have.
Healthcare facilities can also get the services of patient recruitment agencies to survey on how to improve their services. This allows these institutions to make the necessary adjustments to ensure their patients are well taken care of.
Demonstrate Proper Demeanor
While interacting with the patient, staff members should maintain a proper demeanor to avoid making the patient uncomfortable. Proper manners also validate the concerns of the patient and make him feel taken care of. The staff should remain professional and respectful the whole time they are interacting with the patient. Demonstrating poor bedside manners can cause the patient to feel afraid and anxious. So, it’s best for staff members to act professionally while interacting with the patient.
Look Out for Nonverbal Cues
Verbal communication can provide a lot of information about how a healthcare facility can improve its services. But these facilities should also not discount nonverbal communication cues. The nonverbal cues of a patient show his interest level in verbally communicating with the staff.
The staff should observe the posture, eye contact, and facial expression of the patients. These provide clues on the openness of a person to communicate. It also shows how the patient is feeling at the moment.
Aside from taking note of nonverbal cues from the patient, the staff should also watch how they carry themselves when they enter the room. For example, before walking into the patient’s room, the staff member should ensure they have a good posture to relieve the tension a patient feels when someone visits the room. Putting on a smile can also help put the patient at ease. And having good eye contact can also make a difference since the patient will see that the staff member is not hiding something from him.
Be Friendly
A friendly atmosphere can improve the mood inside the room of the patient. So, staff members should be friendly to the patient even if he seems grumpy. Having a ready smile is a good way to start changing the bad mood of a patient. The patients would also want to see a smiling face rather than a distracted and grumpy staff member entering the room. The staff can also be considerate and honest with the patient while putting a smile on his face.
Respect the Time
Clinicians and staff members should also respect the time of the patients who come in for a checkup. They should make sure to make the wait time to be as short as possible and stock up the waiting area with magazines to allow them to leaf through something while waiting. A TV can also make time go fast. Aside from giving the patients something to do, the staff assigned to the waiting area should routinely update the patients.
The healthcare facility can also provide patients access to an internet connection while in the waiting area. This is particularly helpful for patients who are waiting for the results of their lab tests. Their mobile devices will allow them to pass the time and take the mind off their illness.
Improving patient care is one way for healthcare facilities to help improve the health of their patients.
