Improving the Patient Experience

By Stacy M. Menz, PT, DPT, PCS

This month’s Impact focuses on the patient. I hate to say that something is the most important factor, but if I am being honest, where would our businesses be without the patient? I would be sitting in a clinic by myself with a lot of toys and equipment.

The importance of the patient has become even harder to deny when you look at the growth of patient engagement tools—I am excited about our comparison chart in this issue looking at this growing industry.

The patient impacts all areas of our business. I know for me, it was the reason I ventured into private practice. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of the kids and the families that I was working with and I had big ideas on how to make this happen. Now that I have been in business for several years, I find that the decisions I make all ultimately come back to those same kids and families.

When I hire new employees, I am looking for people who are in alignment with our company’s purpose. As I institute new policies and procedures, buy new equipment, look for continuing education, expand the business, it is all based on the foundation of improving the patient experience.

As I read through the articles for this month, I was inspired by the authors and found ways to further improve our patient experience. In addition to inspiration I also found some great take-home ideas that I can work to implement into my day-to-day practice either immediately or longer term, via our strategic planning.

This issue is a great reminder of why we do what we do. It truly is about the patients we have the opportunity to serve.