A better hospital experience

New research indicates that US patients and physicians are more and more likely to base their choice of hospital on nonclinical aspects of a visit—like convenience and amenities.
Yet few hospitals have the marketing skills, the organizational structure, or the operating approach needed to deliver a distinctive experience in the way that retailing and hospitality companies do.
As competition for commercially insured patients heats up, US hospitals will have to invest in the capabilities needed to learn what these patients want and to deliver an experience that could attract them. Hospitals that succeed should gain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Exhibit 1: Twenty percent of a patient’s choice of hospital is based on its clinical reputation. Remarkably, about 41 percent is based on the nonclinical patient experience.
Exhibit 2: Patients prefer hospitals that keep them better informed or conduct appointments on time.
Exhibit 3: Some factors that hospitals might consider alluring would not tempt patients to switch from one hospital to another.
Exhibit 4: Physicians’ recommendations appear to be influenced not only by the capabilities of hospitals but also by the patients’ preferences.
Exhibit 5: Physicians and patients share some priorities in selecting a hospital but differ on many others.
Exhibit 6: Hospitals can segment customer groups in the same way that marketers segment them in retailing.
Exhibit 7: Hospital executives should look to bundles of initiatives that can help them establish a distinctive patient experience.

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