Features

Expecting a stronger patient experience from healthcare providers

Most patients in the GCC believe not enough is being done to improve patient experience, claims new EY report
Consumers across the GCC are no longer satisfied with healthcare providers just meeting their basic physical needs and 85 per cent of respondents in the EY Report ‘What is the cure for a better patient experience in the GCC?’ believe not enough is being done to improve patient experience. Furthermore, 38 per cent of those surveyed have trust in their local healthcare system and most patients reported they would opt to get care for serious conditions outside the GCC region.

The patient experience is comprised of the various interactions that patients have with a healthcare system and is a critical component of overall healthcare quality. A positive patient experience focuses on the whole delivery of an interaction, from booking timely appointments to having their medical history easily accessible to healthcare staff across clinics.

From regulatory bodies to providers, many healthcare organizations in the GCC region lack a mature patient experience management function despite 82 per cent of healthcare professionals indicating that patient experience is a priority in their organization. In the same survey, 51 per cent of the healthcare professionals rate overall healthcare quality as inconsistent.


Andrea Longhi, EY MENA Healthcare Advisory Services Leader, explains: “Inconsistent quality of care has been a uniform challenge across the GCC. Establishing a patient experience management function will help improve accessibility to patients, quality of service, consistency and affinity. It will help patients appreciate the value of what they are paying for, improve loyalty and medical outcomes as healthcare providers recognize the importance of going beyond exemplary medical care to engage with patients.”

What patients told us

1

They have a low perception of the quality of care
Only 38% responded they have trust in the overall health care system.Most patients reported they would opt to get care for serious conditions outside the GCC region,in their homes countries,or in the west.
2 They do not trust health care professionals
Only 25% believed their doctors knew what was best for them & more than 25% considered the internet to be their main source for reliable health information over physicians. Qualitative interviews revealed that unsatisfied patients questioned health professionals’ experience & qualifications, noting that a doctor’s past experience is the greatest perceived indicator of his capability.
3 They have limited engagement and communication issues with front-
Findings revealed that patients have limited engagement with clinical staff,with a large number stating that they do not feel like they are being listened to.Communication challenges were also linked to inconsistent diagnosis.
4 They are frustrated when clinical staff have no prior knowledge of their medical history
In one-on-one interviews, patients often brought up the lack of a consistent medical history as a point of frustration,linked to slow resolution time and inconsistent diagnosis.
5 They don’t like to wait
Patients often complained about long wait times & poor admin procedures,particularly during emergency room visits, when time is most critical.Waiting time had a strong impact on perceived quality of care &experience.
6 They are not feeling empowered to make health decisions
Sixty-nine percent of respondents said that they wanted to be more involved in medical decisions, and only 40% believed that they were being adequately informed about their health.
7 They have limited visibility on how to get access to appropriate care
Respondents voiced frustrations on finding up-to-date and consistent information on access to care, choice of clinicians and their availability,leading them to make uninformed decisions when selecting a provider and creating some suspicion in the appropriateness of received care.

Industry-wide challenges

Inconsistent patient case handling
Patient care agents are not fully informed on health care provider services, leading to hand-offs, unanswered patient queries and inconsistencies in care plans and follow-up care. As a result, low first-time resolution rates & longer case closure times are apparent, especially for rarer conditions.
Transient and high-turnover workforce
In the GCC region, health care professionals come from a multitude of countries with disparate standards of care and cultural norms.Despite standardized board examinations,cultural factors come into play,especially with bedside manner. In addition, turnover in staff is high, especially for the highly specialized,as demand for tertiary specializations tends to be lower as patients seek care outside the GCC region.
A fragmented primary care system:

A fragmented primary care system and the lack of a strong general practitioner culture means that patients in the GCC region are less likely to develop personal relationships with their clinicians, leading to patients feeling less connected to their physicians.In addition, the patients are likely to visit a number of different doctors,putting a higher reliance on the accuracy of medical records and resulting in slower resolution rates & inconsistent diagnosis.

Lack of proper system integration and HMS systems
Although advances in this space are being made at a national level in some countries, data is fragmented and is currently collected, owned and managed by different health care provider functions, resulting in a lack of consistent information.
Lack of standardized health care outcomes and patient experience metrics
Methods of public reporting of quality, patient satisfaction data, and other indicators of patient experience are not standardized, creating a gray area for regulatory authorities to redesign the health delivery system and improve patient experience
Understaffed and overworked healthcare professionals

Health professionals often do not take the time to provide comprehensive diagnosis and care options to patients due to the large volume of patients seen during clinic hours.

Low patient awareness
Sources of information are sometimes fragmented or unavailable, with a lack of a central source for truth,resulting in patient frustration and over-reliance on word-of-mouth sources.This fragmentation can also lead providers to under use, overuse and misuse services, posing a cost implication that will impact the provider’s service quality

The absence of a comprehensive patient experience management function also leaves patients frustrated when clinical staff have no prior knowledge of their medical history, which is linked to a slower resolution time and inconsistent diagnosis. Limited engagement with clinical staff and the lack of consistency has only 40 per cent of respondents believing that they were being adequately informed about their health. Furthermore, only 34 per cent of patients are relying on their physician for healthcare information above any other source.

Mohammad Sear, Executive Director, Advisory, EY, further highlights: “Patient centricity is the key to sustainably delivering better experiences. To achieve this, stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem must make patient experience a top priority at all times.”


Going digital
With the digital revolution, patients are becoming more aware, expectations are rising and demand to be involved in every step of the treatment is increasing. 69 per cent of respondents from across the GCC agreed that digital and mobile healthcare is the future with 78 per cent eager to use new health technologies to empower themselves in making health decisions. A further 83 per cent of respondents believe there should be a greater investment in healthcare technology.

“Although advances in the digital space are being made at a national level in some countries, data is currently collected, owned, and managed by different healthcare provider functions, resulting in a lack of consistent information.

In addition, methods of public reporting of quality, patient satisfaction data, and other indicators of patient experience are not standardized, creating a gray area for regulatory authorities to redesign the health delivery system and improve patient experience. Potential solutions for the GCC healthcare system include the digitization of electronic medical records, mobile applications, remote patient monitoring, and the automation of medical centers,” shares Dr. Fadi Al-Buhairan, EY MENA Digital Healthcare Leader.