How to Improve Patient Experience: Best Practices & Tips

Patient experience best practices are what we, in healthcare, are always seeking out. Making the care process more accessible, enjoyable, and comfortable are frequently topics of discussion for healthcare providers and staff. With emerging options for care that the patient can choose from, we must strive for the best experience whether it is virtual or in-person.

As you explore new options for care and uncover how they fit in your healthcare organization, learning from others who have been through it is fundamental. In a recent episode of “The Patient Experience”, OhMD CEO, Ethan Bechtel, sat down with Vice President of Integrated Spine and Joint Institution, Urooj Ansari, to discuss the patient experience best practices that helped make her pain management practice so successful.

What is patient experience in healthcare?

Patient experience refers to the range of interactions that patients have with a healthcare system—from scheduling appointments to communicating with providers and receiving care. It includes not only clinical outcomes, but also how patients feel about the accessibility, clarity, and compassion of the care they receive.

Unlike patient satisfaction, which focuses on whether expectations were met, patient experience captures what actually happened during the care journey. This includes things like how easily a patient could reach their provider, how clearly instructions were explained, whether they felt respected and listened to, and how safe and comfortable they felt throughout the process.

A positive patient experience depends on effective communication, clear care coordination, convenience, and a strong sense of trust between patients and their care teams.

Benefits of improving patient experience

Improving patient experience goes beyond customer service—it directly impacts clinical outcomes, care quality, and operational efficiency. Here are some of the most meaningful benefits:

• Higher patient retention: Patients who feel heard and cared for are more likely to return for follow-up care and refer others.
• Better treatment adherence: When patients understand their care plans and trust their providers, they are more likely to follow medical advice.
• Fewer complaints and legal risks: Proactive communication reduces misunderstandings and frustrations that often lead to formal grievances.
• Improved staff morale: Happy patients create a more positive work environment, which helps reduce burnout and turnover among care teams.
• Higher reimbursement potential: Patient experience scores increasingly affect value-based reimbursement in many health systems and payer models.

In today’s hybrid healthcare environment—where patients can choose from telehealth, urgent care, direct-to-consumer platforms, and retail clinics—delivering a strong, seamless patient experience is no longer optional. It’s a competitive advantage.

Patient experience best practices to use today

1. Ensure in-person and virtual safety

Patients now expect seamless experiences whether they’re in your office or on a video call. Make sure both settings feel secure, personal, and efficient. Use HIPAA-compliant tools like OhMD for messaging and telehealth, and clearly communicate your safety protocols, whether virtual or physical. Empower patients with choices while keeping them confident their data and health are protected.

Today, virtual visits becoming more frequent and, in many cases, in-person visits are less feasible or convenient. In these situations patients need to have trust that their information is safe. As a care team you must confirm that your telehealth tools are HIPAA compliant to protect yourself, your organization, and most importantly, your patients. Choose virtual care tools give patients security options. For example, OhMD offers providers and patients the ability to text directly through SMS or to send messages via encrypted link.

While convenience and ease of access in virtual care is critical for patients, also take time to make sure they know their data is safe and inform them that they are using a secure and HIPAA compliant software for telehealth appointments.

2. Simplify the communication between patient and provider

By improving communication, healthcare visits will become a lot less stressful for the patient and provider. Providers can leverage simple communication tools such as texting or webchat so that patients understand expectations going into an appointment. Patients want to know they are interacting with real people, so talk to them like it.

Eliminate barriers such as patient portals that require a login to access care.

Wave good-bye to automated calls where the patient can’t actually connect with a real person.

Use the tools your patients already use everyday for more effective communication and higher patient satisfaction.

One of the best patient experience best practices we can offer is to be present as it not only improves communication but it creates a personal relationship between the patient and practice. Where you can, opt for solutions that allow real people to interact. Simple switches like foregoing automated or voice recognition call systems and opting for text messaging and live webchat on your site can not only save you time and money, but can also greatly improve your connection with patients.

3. Build a personal relationship – a critical patient relationship best practice

Relationships take time and effort. You don’t have a single conversation with someone and then trust them like you would a family member or close friend. Healthcare is no different.

Take the time to get to know your patients on a personal level. Make sure they feel comfortable with you. Become a trusted person in their life.

Your interactions with your patients are what fuels the decision to continue coming back or opting for another care provider. Ansari, offering one of her top patient experience best practices, noted that she and her staff work to build strong connections with their patients. This effort makes each meeting special for their clientele. For patients of Integrated Spine & Joint Institute, knowing the doctor is there for them every step of the way brings a level of comfort and trust. They alleviate fear, pain and negativity that can sometimes be associated with diagnosis and care. An act as simple as checking in after an appointment can greatly strengthen the patient provider relationship.

4. Empower a pleasant staff

You can’t always control every aspect of the visit and every person the patient engages with. While it is important to have personal relationships between patients, care teams should work hand-in-hand to improve and work towards a positive patient experience. Studies reveal there is value in measuring the effectiveness of care and the satisfaction of patients based on interactions across the care team rather than individual providers. Be sure these expectations are set with your staff.

The best practice is to work as a unit with the goal revolving around the patient experience. Make sure your staff has bought into your plans and methodology for patient experience best practices. For many, this is putting added emphasis on patient-centered care and patient engagement. Allow for further medical education for your staff regarding patient care studies and analytics. Providing your staff learning opportunities and understanding of why patient experience is so important will pay dividends. Happy patients helps to improve employee satisfaction and, in turn, quality of care. Patient experience best practices should be at the root of your employee culture.

5. The ultimate patient experience best practice – Make healthcare a simple process

Healthcare is hard. It can be stressful for providers and patients alike. Like Bechtel shares, there are very few trips to the doctor that are truly enjoyable.

Alleviate some of that stress by making the care process as simple and accessible as possible. Offering efficient scheduling, shorter wait times, and the ability to quickly connect in meaningful ways will further patient satisfaction. This may include automated appointment reminders through HIPAA compliant text messaging, digitized patient intake forms, or a host of other aspects of the virtual care journey.

The process for in-office visits should be just as efficient. Have established, well-documented, check-in processes and make your visitors aware of safety protocols in advance. Keeping patients at ease entering and leaving the office is highly effective and easy to implement with the right messaging tools.

Patients should feel like a priority in the care process.

Patient experience best practices for the emergency room (ER)

The emergency department is fast-paced and high-stress, which makes patient experience both difficult and essential to prioritize. Key best practices include:

• Triage transparency: Clearly explain expected wait times and reasons for delays. Patients and families feel calmer when they know what’s happening.
• Real-time communication tools: Use digital signage, text updates, or mobile messaging to keep families informed about loved ones.
• Pain and anxiety management: Train staff to acknowledge discomfort and explain care steps compassionately.
• Secure follow-up coordination: Ensure discharge instructions and next steps are clear, ideally shared through secure text or printed materials patients can reference.

Patient experience best practices for hospitals

Hospitals involve many departments and transitions, making communication and continuity of care key. Best practices include:

• Standardized bedside handoffs: Ensure all shift changes involve patient introductions and clear explanation of who’s responsible for care.
• Comfort rounding: Proactively check on patient needs (pain, mobility, water, restroom) on a scheduled basis.
• Integrated care team communication: Use tools that let staff coordinate quickly without relying solely on pages or verbal relay.
• Family engagement: Encourage virtual or in-person involvement from family and caregivers to support patient comfort and understanding.

Patient experience best practices for primary care practices

Primary care is often the first point of contact and a long-term care relationship. Best practices here should focus on continuity, clarity, and access:

• Streamlined appointment scheduling: Offer online booking, text-based requests, and same-day availability when possible.
• Proactive health check-ins: Use reminders for wellness visits, screenings, and preventive care based on patient age or history.
• Easy access to provider communication: Allow patients to ask follow-up questions via secure text without needing another appointment.
• Care continuity: Assign patients to consistent providers or care teams to build stronger relationships and trust.

Patient experience best practices for nurses

Nurses often spend the most time with patients, making their communication and empathy crucial to overall satisfaction. Best practices include:

• Active listening: Repeat back what the patient shares to confirm understanding and show attentiveness.
• Personal introductions: Introduce yourself by name and role, and explain what you’re there to do.
• Emotional support: Acknowledge fears and anxieties, especially around procedures or changes in condition.
• Timely response to needs: Even when delays happen, frequent check-ins show patients they haven’t been forgotten.

Patient experience best practices for dental offices

Dentistry can trigger high anxiety, making comfort and clarity critical. Best practices for dental practices include:

• Pre-visit communication: Send reminders and intake forms via text or email to make the visit smoother.
• Clear cost transparency: Explain insurance, out-of-pocket costs, and payment options before care begins.
• Anxiety-reducing environment: Offer noise-canceling headphones, soft lighting, or calming visuals.
• Friendly, consistent follow-up: A simple post-visit message asking how the patient is feeling helps build trust and loyalty.

Bonus best practice: Improve patient satisfaction with reviews and feedback

Learn from your patients through reviews and feedback to improve patient retention and patient satisfaction. Just like how healthcare providers can further their education around best practices, this educational information can come directly from your patients. Use reviews to gain important feedback and improve patient experience scores on your website.

OhMD’s Autopilot feature allows you to gain thoughtful insight into how to make the patient experience the best it can be. When a patient texts in the keyword “review”, Autopilot automates a prompt asking them to take a patient experience survey with scores between one and ten. From there, they will be taken directly to your reviews site to leave important feedback. They will be able to leave a review directly from their phone.

This feedback will ultimately let you know how to improve patients experience, but may also give you validation with your best practices. When your practice is focusing on patient centered care, your reviews will reflect that.

These are just a few of the many patient experience best practices we’ve learned from the truly remarkable organizations we’ve worked with. Improving patient satisfaction is continuously evolving with studies and data providing proof points as to how to be most effective. Make the patient experience more enjoyable and ensure they always turn to you for care.

Hear more on patient experience best practices you can use today: