Meet Kaweah Health Medical Group
With over 50 providers, Kaweah Health Medical Group is the largest physician-owned clinic in California’s southern valley. Since 1941, Kaweah Health Medical Group has prioritized quality patient care, offering primary care and multi-specialty services including orthopedics, pediatrics, and plastic surgery, among others.
An affiliate of Kaweah Delta Medical Center, Kaweah Health Medical Group recognizes the importance of treating patients holistically. Through specialized programs, such as The Wellness Center, Kaweah Health Medical Group promotes healthy lifestyle choices while working to prevent chronic disease.
A Skewed Online Reputation
As the healthcare industry continues its reimbursement evolution from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance, Kaweah Health Medical Group identified an opportunity to revitalize efforts to improve patient satisfaction.
However, despite multi-million dollar investments in modern facilities and operations, Kaweah Health Medical Group discovered many patients only posted to review sites like Google+ when there was dissatisfaction, resulting in an unfairly skewed online reputation. HIPAA and privacy regulations made responding to these postings nearly impossible, and Kaweah Health Medical Group was unsure of how to improve its online reputation on its own.
To encourage positive reviews and improve online ratings, Kaweah Health Medical Group sought a partner who would help collect open and honest feedback from patients that more accurately captured the dedication of their care team.
Implementing an Automated Patient Satisfaction Solution
Kaweah Health Medical Group contacted Providertech, having previously worked with them to conduct patient appointment reminders via text and voice message. Because Kaweah Health Medical Group experienced positive results with Providertech’s team in the past, they were confident Providertech could help them improve online ratings that would reflect their patient-focused work.
Kaweah Health Medical Group engaged Providertech to implement their advanced patient experience score solution, which would capture patient satisfaction and encourage positive online reviews.
Rather than waiting for patients to take the initiative and post about a positive experience online, Providertech’s patient experience solution automatically distributed patient surveys following their visit.
Using the 0-10 Net Promoter Scale® (NPS), Kaweah Health Medical Group worked with Providertech’s patient outreach software to automatically send a text message to patients one week after their visit. The text message read:
“Based on your recent visit to Kaweah Health Medical Group how likely would you be to recommend our clinic to a friend or colleague? Please respond with a number from 0 (not likely) to 10 (extremely likely).”
Patients who responded with a predetermined high experience score, such as a 9 or 10, automatically received links to review sites where they could share their positive experiences with the public.
In contrast, patients who responded with a low experience score were automatically routed to Kaweah Health Medical Group’s service management team for immediate follow-up. This allowed them to respond with timely service recovery with the opportunity to resolve the patient’s complaint and de-escalate a potential conflict while keeping the interaction offline.
Improved Online Reputation and Service Recovery
Within the first three months of using Providertech’s patient outreach software, Kaweah Health Medical Group’s patient satisfaction improved significantly, as did their online reviews and ratings on popular sites such as Google and Yelp.
With an opportunity to correct both operational and clinical issues before patients post negative reviews online, Kaweah Health Medical Group’s Google rating increased from 2.6 stars to 4.5 stars in just 90 days.
“In just three months of using Providertech’s patient satisfaction software, we noticed a 75% increase in Google Star Ratings, and 35 out of 36 of the reviews posted were five-star ratings.”
Rick Strid, CEO, Kaweah Health Medical Group
This 75% increase in Google Star ratings was attributed to the influx of patients who were motivated to leave online reviews following their visit as a result of being asked to do so.
In addition, 35 out of 36 of the reviews posted throughout the first three months were five-star ratings, since patients responding with high scores were automatically routed to reputation sites. This quick increase in online ratings for Kaweah Health Medical Group’s providers and locations helped them to leave a good first impression online.
During the three-month pilot, Kaweah Health Medical Group also received fewer 1-star Google reviews than before the launch, since patient scores below a predetermined threshold were sent to their service recovery team for immediate follow-up. With service recovery embedded in their workflow, Kaweah Health Medical Group’s care team is able to address patient concerns before they are made public, which minimizes the volume of low online ratings they receive. And, regular escalation reports are reviewed frequently by the CEO to ensure quality service is a top priority at Kaweah Health Medical Group.
Kaweah Health Medical Group maintains a high online review score of 4.6 stars as they continue to use Providertech’s patient experience solution. Achieving over 275 total reviews to date, Kaweah Health Medical Group now has an online reputation that is consistent with the performance of its healthcare practice. In addition, they consistently monitor and respond to meaningful data that allows them to continue making improvements to their business model and care delivery as they attract and retain patients.
By automating the collection of patient feedback, Kaweah Health Medical Group is able to gather helpful patient perspectives that affirm or identify areas of improvement for their practice. It also serves as a catalyst for more favorable online ratings on review sites that are representative of their commitment to quality care delivery.
To learn more about how Providertech can help you scale your patient outreach without expanding your care team, visit Providertech.com or schedule a demo with an expert today.
