Note: This is an opinion piece based on personal experience and observation.
Healthcare in the United States usually is not listed as one of the worst industries for customer service; that honor usually goes to cable, internet providers, wireless phone service providers, health insurance and airlines. However, I have found that once COVID took over our lives, that the customer service of healthcare providers has worsened.
A non-emergency procedure my doctor recommended in October 2022 was scheduled for May 2023. A test I requested for a child earlier this year (2023) found us on a waitlist for March 2024. Parents of children in my area who need ADHD medication or need to see a psychiatrist have to travel 90 miles roundtrip for a 15 minute appointment that has to be in person. Our local urgent care now has patients schedule an appointment for later in day instead of just walking in.
It is so frustrating that I looked at different providers and found it is the same for all providers.
I have had family and friends misdiagnosed. Medication prescribed that was later found to not be needed. Refills not sent to the pharmacist. Office staff forcing friendliness when they are worn out. Some are not even trying. Calls are not returned.
If there is an issue with customer service, usually the fault falls on the company or industry. But what if the fault is not with the industry itself, but outside forces that wore it down to its core?
According to an article by the American Medical Association, in just two years (about 2024) one in five physicians will likely leave their practice. About one in three health professionals will reduce their work hours. Another report by Definitive Healthcare stated that “nearly 334,000 health care providers—including 117,000 physicians—left the workforce in 2021.” Even more depressing is this quote from a Newsweek article, “According to research by Elsevier Health, up to 47% of U.S. healthcare workers plan to leave their positions by 2025, and an astonishing 90% of nurses responding to a November 2021 Hospital IQ survey report they are considering leaving within the next year.”
Here’s the thing. You cannot, absolutely cannot, have quality customer service if the people providing the service are miserable and burned out.
Yes, I understand that healthcare is more than customer service. However, I ask you to think about this for a moment. Have you had a strange pain, a cut, or felt ill but decided not to bother getting it checked out because you couldn’t get in that day or you didn’t want to wait? I know I have. Just last week I cut my finger, it continued to bleed after a couple of hours, but knowing I had to wait made me just deal with it at home.
So what can be done besides an overhaul of the healthcare industry, the regulations, and insurance?
Start at the healthcare network level.
The American Medical Association article gave some pretty good tips, (that would work in most industries):
“…leaders in health care organizations can provide:
- Transparent communication.
- Support for child care.
- Rapid training to support deployment to unfamiliar units, which may demonstrate organizational appreciation to workers.
To combat stress and burnout, leaders can:
- Focus on providing adequate personal protective equipment.
- Create supportive environments.
- Ensure access to confidential services for mental health.
- Reduce work overload through better teamwork.
- Apply a systems approach to interventions aimed at improving organization culture and practice efficiency.”
In ANY industry, if the employees are not happy, appreciated, and compensated, customer service will fail. If they are constantly playing catchup and people are leaving in droves, it will never get better.
I have ideas on how we can improve our healthcare system or at least how to give staff a breather, but some will literally take an act of Congress. And do we really need to talk about their customer service?
Are you in the medical field? Do you know someone who is? What do they need as employees from their companies to get them to stay working in the medical field?
Resources
American Medical Association and American Medical Association. “Medicine’s Great Resignation? 1 in 5 Doctors Plan Exit in 2 Years.” American Medical Association, 18 Jan. 2022, http://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/physician-health/medicine-s-great-resignation-1-5-doctors-plan-exit-2-years.
Kupietzky, Jacob. “The Great Resignation Hits Healthcare: Actions to Take.” Newsweek, 22 Nov. 2022, http://www.newsweek.com/great-resignation-hits-healthcare-actions-take-1761064.
Why so Many Doctors Are Quitting. 25 Oct. 2022, http://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2022/10/25/workplace-departures.
Lisa Sedlak 