Are your caregivers too busy with documentation to spend sufficient one-on-one quality time with patients? The constant overload of manual documentation requirements and hectic schedules placed on their shoulders takes away from the essence of caregiving.
A key aspect of quality care is the establishment of trust between patients and caregivers. Unfortunately that trust tends to dwindle when caregiving time is spent completing administrative tasks rather than patient care. In this blog, we’ll discuss ways to re-establish that foundation of trust to win over patients like never before.
Building a Relationship
A trusting relationship between the caregiver and patient doesn’t develop on its own. Rather, it takes persistence and genuine effort. Caregiver actions that build a solid relationship with patients include the following:
- Provide a listening ear
- Treat with compassion
- Demonstrated competence
- Going the extra mile
- Fast processes with high accuracy
Provide a Listening Ear
One of the most important caregiver actions that’s frequently underrated is listening to patients attentively. Nowadays everyday documentation serves as a distractor, preventing patients from receiving the undivided attention they deserve. From continuously writing down or inserting information, caregivers have a constant tug of war for their time and attention.
An effective way to reduce the distractions from everyday paperwork, would be to automate such processes via home healthcare software. It’s like having an automated teammate at your side to handle all the documentation with ease and speed. Finally having more time for patient care means you can better implement the following:
- Fruitful conversations with patients
- Better eye contact for connection
- Improved patient engagement
- Make patients feel valued with one-on-one care
- Provide an avenue for easy communication
Treat Patients with Compassion
You know that saying – a smile goes a long way… It’s definitely true when it comes to serving patients. That friendly smile and gentle etiquette puts patients at ease from the start. Without it, they may wonder if they’ve selected their caregiver wisely. Showing compassion is a basic caregiver action we all know matters, but we don’t always give it the priority it deserves.
Showing real compassion goes beyond just using words of sympathy. It carries more weight and impact if it comes from the heart. Some ways patients are able to read your level of compassion:
- Do patients remain loyal with your services
- How are your bedside manners
- Do you hear them out completely
- What kind of vibes do they get from being around you
Competence in Knowledge
A sound and reliable knowledge base is crucial for being able to care for patients in the best way without the unwanted hiccups. Competency involves knowing and understanding how to treat patients, and how to make the visit run smoothly from start to finish. Several caregiver actions that demonstrate competency include the following:
- Organizational skills
- Ability to answer questions
- Emotional intelligence with patients
- Getting things right the first time around
- Operational efficiency with automation
Going the Extra Mile
We’ve all heard the phrase “go the extra mile for patients,” but do we actually put in the effort to make patients feel that we’re going out of our way for their satisfaction? Let’s take a step back and evaluate from a patient’s perspective.
Patients might feel insecure letting a new caregiver in their home at the start. Perhaps they’ve had negative experiences in the past with previous caregivers, making them uncomfortable and not as trusting with new caregivers.
They’re looking for an experience that’ll win back that trust and provide them with the care they need. Going the extra mile to win over patients means providing the below:
- 100% anxiety-free visit
- Emotional support from start to finish
- Easy-to-use communication flow during and outside of the visit
- 24/7 availability to answer questions
- Exceeding their expectations with more time for care
- Empowering them with better engagement in the treatment process
- Streamline the entire experience for topmost care management
Fast Processes with High Accuracy
Who likes sitting around waiting for their services to start? No one, not even if they’re being served in their own home. Patients are no different than others in wanting patient care time to be the bulk of the visit, and administrative operations out of the way.
This is where Home health care software becomes your best friend. Running a Home Healthcare Agency requires thinking outside the box in regards to time-saving, patient-pleasing methods. Cutting down documentation time and improving accuracy of information using Home health care software is an important move that will create happier patients.
How exactly does software give caregivers more time for patients? Home health care software gives your agency fast processes with topnotch reliability in the following ways:
- 35% less documentation time
- Automation of administrative operations
- Direct integration of patient information into your system
- Electronic timesheets and E-signatures for fast verification
- Simplified Electronic Visit Verification
- 2-Way text communication to keep patients connected outside the visit
- Paperless solution for easy batch billing and payrolls
- Automated insurance verification to avoid claim delays and denials
Conclusion
Caregiver actions that win patient trust are vital for the success of your Home health care agency. Building a solid relationship with patients is the foundation for winning their heart. Patients are looking for caregivers with: a listening ear, compassion, competence, willingness to go the extra mile, and fast operations with a high level of accuracy.
Caretap’s Home Health Care software has helped thousands of Home care agencies streamline operations to improve patient satisfaction and create better loyalty. Find out how Caretap can help your agency grow.