By Jay Juffre

Last month we looked at how top healthcare providers are utilizing technology to drive patient satisfaction. We are continuing to explore what the best of the best are doing right now to differentiate themselves from the competition.

One huge trend is the idea of personalized medicine. Now this concept takes on two forms and they both can have a huge impact on overall patient care and outcomes. The first is, shall we call it, technical. It is a type of medicine that uses information about a person’s genes or proteins to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease. Having this ability in your organization can be a game changer. It allows you to have a proactive approach to treating patients and produce a quicker diagnosis.

Now, I know many of you may be thinking, ‘our organization is not there yet’. So what can you do right now? Well, there lies the second aspect and much less technical part of personalized care. It’s called getting to know your patients on a personal level.

For example, every time I go to see my Primary Care physician, she always goes out of her way to ask me how my two kids are doing. A nurse or PA may ask me if I am still playing hockey or ask about my favorite sports team. This all may seem like small talk, but these folks are taking the time to ask questions and then remembering the conversations at my next visits to ask follow up questions. All of this makes the experience more personal and less transactional.

This produces loyalty. These are the little things that make a patient more comfortable with your organization and more likely to return for additional appointments and treatments. It is obvious they have a process for the team to capture that data.

So, no matter if you are on the cutting edge of genetic programming or are more traditional in your approach, take the time to make the experience more personal. Your patients will truly appreciate your efforts.

Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President, Total Customer Experience, ImageFIRST. For more information on ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com.