HEALTHCARE: The "Mystery Patient Process"
The View from the Patient's Perspective
GOALS: The following represent our goals and desired outcomes of the Mystery Patient Process. To these we will add your verbalized goals to ensure the process meets your needs.
- To provide a real-world perspective of your organization
- To provide a tool to fine-tune marketing & patient services
- To aid the entire team in gaining and retaining patients
CONCEPT: A "mystery patient" experiences your organization as any new patient entering the practice, including initial calls to inquire about the practice, appointing call, processing of all paperwork, appointment (new patient exam and/or department tests you request), and financial closure. Following the mystery visit, a staff (or administrative) meeting is conducted to discuss the results of the visit. An important part of this process is the active involvement by the team in determining how each evaluated area might be fine-tuned to increase patient perceptions, patient retention and treatment acceptance.
AREAS OF EVALUATION: Twelve areas of the organization are evaluated and graded. These include the factors that
consistently affect patient perceptions and patient decision-making in relation to the facility. They include: Telephone protocol, marketing, scheduling, staff and doctor self presentation and interpersonal skills, financial arrangements, office decor, collateral materials and more. In the majority of cases when administration arranges the mystery patient process, there is need for a confederate doctor or clinician to be involved. This person may represent the mystery patient's primary care giver, or department head, if it is appropriate to desired scenario.
REPORTING: At the time of the team meeting, the primary practitioner or contact person will receive a detailed report that covers the areas evaluated. Other participants in the report meeting (administrators, department heads or staff) will receive a "grade sheet" that shows the numerical grade for each area assessed. This grade sheet is in a grid format that clearly shows the strengths and the weaknesses in the areas evaluated. Key points from each graded area will be addressed in the team meeting. How much sensitive material will be openly addressed in this meeting will be determined in advance. However, all sensitive areas will be explicitly addressed in the written report given to the primary contact. We are highly aware of our responsibility to the practitioner and the team.
THE PATIENT PERSPECTIVE : The view of the organization is based on a multitude of perspectives. In our research of patient attitudes, we conduct focus groups with patients representing differing demographics. The attitudes, interests and concerns expressed in these sessions color the way your office is viewed. Information from written patient surveys also will be used in evaluating the office. In addition, insights and suggestions will be offered based on successful concepts experienced as a patient in other offices. For the purpose of your organization the mystery patient process may be preceeded with custom focus group of actual patients of your facility or it may conclude with a focus group of patients.
SCHEDULING AND IMPLEMENTATION: Ideally the process is arranged by an administrator of the organization. If that is not possible, a practitioner may make arrangements. (Please note: if the doctor is the primary contact, it is best to limit the amount of telephone discussion as much as possible prior to the appointment. This aids in maintaining objectivity for both patient and practitioner. In this respect, having an intermediary handle details and conduct phone calls is far better.)
The date of the team meeting is scheduled first so this can be blocked on the office calendar; determination of this date will affect the timing of the mystery calls and appointment. A half day group session with all team members should be planned.
Some offices prefer to schedule a full day session or a retreat to allow for greater depth of evaluation. In the longer sessions, the process becomes more experiential and is structured in more of a workshop format. The practitioner will complete a brief written needs analysis in advance of the appointment. The information provided will offer guidance as to specific areas of practitioner interest and/or concern; this will influence the approach to be taken in contact with the office. The doctor will also determine the type of visit to be conducted.
The "patient" will not be traceable on your records because the information provided, name, phone number, mailing address will have no correlation to our offices. The greater the anonymity the more effective and objective the results will be. Unless there are special circumstances, the practitioner will not know actual appointment time. The patient will leave the office at the close of the appointment in the same manner as any new patient. The administrator or the practice contact person will receive a phone call following the appointment to advise that the mystery visit is complete.
TEAM NOTIFICATION: Once the contact has received the notification call, the administrator or practitioner may advise the staff that the office has had a "mystery patient" evaluate the organization. Because this can cause concern for some team members, it is suggested that the following concepts be communicated to them:
No one was singled out, this was an evaluation of the facility, including the doctor(s). No one is "at risk", the team meeting will be a brainstorming session to fine tune the organization, not to point fingers at any one person or department. This is an learning opportunity to get new ideas on how to gain and retain patients.
FOLLOW UP PHONE CONSULTATION : Following the consultation/team meeting, the doctor and team may have questions or issues they would like to discuss further. Often, a couple of weeks can pass and concepts congeal! At this time, you may schedule a complimentary phone consultation to tie up any loose ends. The phone call is complimentary up to an hour in length. Should the call extend beyond an hour, you will be billed in 15-minute increments. To do this, please consult your calendar to determine 2-3 times that are convenient for you. Call the office to coordinate one of these times with our calendar. You may consider telephone appointments for times during the day, evening or weekend. This will be blocked on our schedule and Suzanne will await your call at the appointed time. We welcome your questions about this unique process! Please call for additional information and to discuss your goals for the process
STARTING THE PROCESS: To initiate the Mystery Patient Process, a preliminary needs analysis must be completed. When you are ready to start the process contact us to receive the needs analysis.