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In healthcare, one missed update can send a patient to the ER.
- One unclear message can trigger panic.
- One billing error can make someone switch providers.
That’s why how you communicate, follow up, and support patients matters just as much as clinical outcomes.
This guide explains what great service in healthcare looks like and how to make it part of your team’s everyday workflow.
Table of Contents
- What is customer service in healthcare?
- Customer service skills your healthcare team should start using
- Why is customer service in healthcare important?
- 15 strategies to improve customer service in healthcare
- 1. Design every step of the patient journey with empathy
- 2. Hire staff who can de-escalate, explain, and think on their feet
- 3. Turn tough conversations into repeatable playbooks
- 4. Set clear, measurable service goals for every role
- 5. Collect and act on patient feedback quickly
- 6. Prioritize privacy and data security
- 7. Use technology to improve service at every step
- 8. Make wait times and scheduling smoother with automation
- 9. Let staff take ownership and make decisions
- 10. Keep every teammate on the same page
- 11. Make it easy for patients to reach you
- 12. Regularly review service metrics and adapt
- 13. Be transparent about costs upfront to avoid billing surprises.
- 14. Assign dedicated support for long-term or high-risk patients.
- 15. Celebrate small service wins internally.
What is customer service in healthcare?
Customer service in healthcare refers to how patients are treated, informed, and guided from their first call to post-treatment care. As Dr. James Merlino, MD, Chief Experience Officer at Cleveland Clinic, puts it:
“Patients are made to feel that, because healthcare is a necessity rather than a luxury, they aren’t entitled to a superior patient experience. And this is probably the biggest mistake our industry makes.”
He believes that every healthcare professional must provide the best level of care.
The quality of customer service shapes every step of the healthcare journey, from initial contact to follow-up after treatment. Focusing on patient comfort, emotional well-being, and personalized support ensures a positive experience.
- Care and empathy: Showing understanding and compassion for patients’ concerns.
- Efficiency and professionalism: Delivering timely, respectful service at every interaction.
- Accurate, timely information: Ensuring patients know what’s happening, when, and why.
- Trust and data privacy: Building confidence by safeguarding patient information.
Now, patients expect the same level of service, fast, clear, and secure, whether walking into a clinic or chatting online. These expectations go beyond efficiency; they also ensure patient comfort and support their overall well-being.
Cisco research shows that 74% of patients want instant connection with providers via phone, email, or virtual channels. They’re looking for faster access to care, convenient condition management, and easy communication with experts.
The good news here is that many healthcare organizations are stepping up. Adopting digital tools, improving communication workflows, and focusing on customer service as a core priority make patient experiences smoother, safer, and more satisfying.
Customer service skills your healthcare team should start using
Let’s be honest: Patients don’t just remember how their surgery went. They all remember if no one called back with test results, waiting 40 minutes to check in, only to be told their form was missing, or even being treated when things felt uncertain.
In healthcare, small service gaps don’t feel small when you’re on the receiving end. They feel frustrated, sometimes scared.
That’s why support teams need more than medical knowledge. They must communicate clearly, listen actively, manage tasks without rushing, take ownership, read the room, respect privacy, and adapt to each patient’s needs. These skills make a stressful experience feel safe, human, and handled.
Let’s break them down.
1. Clear communication: Explain processes without assumptions. Instead of “You should’ve received an email,” say, “Let me check and walk you through it.” Cleveland Clinic’s “R.E.D.E. to Communicate” program raised patient satisfaction by training staff in relationship-based conversations.
2. Active listening: If a patient repeats a question or seems unsure, pause and ask, “Would you like me to go over that again?” It prevents bigger issues and shows they’ve been heard.
3. Task management: Finish one task before moving on. A simple “Give me a moment to log this correctly” reduces errors and shows care.
4. Ownership: No “That’s not my department.” Take charge, follow up, and confirm resolution. Clinics with callback protocols see higher trust and fewer complaints.
5. Emotional intelligence: Read tone, body language, and cues. Adjust pace or approach to calm anxiety or encourage questions.
6. Patient-centered care: Adapt to preferences: some want detail, others just next steps; some prefer calls, others texts. Cleveland Clinic reduced no-shows by tailoring communication.
7. Trust and data privacy: Know exactly what can be shared and how. Even small breaches like discussing results in a shared space can erode trust. At Mayo Clinic, patient privacy is built into its operations. They’ve publicly shared how much they invest in protecting patient data, because they know trust is everything.
8. Cultural sensitivity: Use preferred names, respect customs, and avoid assumptions. A small gesture can shift the tone of the entire visit.
These skills shape patients’ feelings about your care, team, and organization. When practiced consistently, they reduce confusion, prevent frustration, and help patients.
Recommended reading
Why is customer service in healthcare important?
When service breaks down in a hospital or clinic, the impact is immediate, and it hits everyone. Patients, staff, and leadership all feel it, and it can be dangerous.
Here’s what happens when service is provided and what changes when it is:
- Patients stop trusting the provider. Long wait times, vague answers, or cold interactions make patients feel ignored or dismissed. Some may never return, even if the clinical care was solid. But when service is strong, patients feel heard, supported, and respected.
- Mistakes happen that affect patient care. Missed updates, unclear instructions, or a lack of follow-up can lead to missed treatments, delays, or dangerous outcomes. Good service improves clarity and coordination, helping patients follow through on treatment plans.
- Staff can become overwhelmed and burned out. When your team spends its time fixing avoidable issues like chasing lab results or clarifying basic instructions, stress builds up and morale drops. A service-first culture reduces that friction. It frees up time, improves teamwork, and lets staff focus on patient care.
- The hospital or clinic’s reputation suffers. Frustrated patients share their stories online, damaging your credibility and driving others away. On the flip side, consistent, thoughtful service builds a positive reputation that travels just as fast.
- Missed revenue opportunities. Every time a patient walks away confused about insurance or billing, it’s a revenue loss. Clear service reduces drop-offs and improves completion rates.
- Widening healthcare access gaps. When patients don’t speak the dominant language or come from underserved communities, poor customer service often compounds their challenges. But when inclusive service builds trust where it’s most needed.
- Regulatory and compliance risks. Strong service practices also protect you legally. They ensure patient data is handled responsibly and interactions are documented properly.
Strong customer service creates a system that works better for everyone. It helps patients feel safe and cared for. It also gives staff room to do their jobs without unnecessary stress.
15 strategies to improve customer service in healthcare
Improving healthcare service is about getting every touchpoint right. That means handling issues with empathy, hiring calm problem-solvers, setting clear goals, and giving staff the tools to handle tough conversations.
You also need to act fast on feedback, protect patient data, and use tech to simplify care. Automate what you can. Empower teams to take ownership. Keep everyone aligned, and make it easy for patients to reach out. Most importantly, review what’s working and keep improving.
Let’s look at how to do that.
1. Design every step of the patient journey with empathy
A patient-first culture starts with how systems treat patients, especially when they feel scared, unwell, or confused. Considering the entire healthcare journey, it is essential to prioritize patient comfort at every step.
Look at your check-in flow. Does it ask patients to repeat information? Is the waiting room experience clear, or do patients sit for 45 minutes without updates? Is billing easy to understand, or filled with jargon and surprise charges?
Here’s how to build empathy into every part of the experience:
– Pre-visit: Are appointment reminders friendly, and do they clarify what to bring or expect?
– Waiting room: Is there signage explaining delays or next steps?
– Aftercare: Does someone check in if a patient misses follow-up instructions?
Customize reminders and instructions to match the patient’s tone and situation and avoid cold, transactional templates. That alone can change how supported someone feels.
2. Hire staff who can de-escalate, explain, and think on their feet
In healthcare, frontline staff meet patients when they are most stressed. A routine billing question can escalate into frustration. Or a late lab result can spark panic.
That’s why hiring people who stay composed, explain clearly, and know how to de-escalate without sounding robotic or defensive is important. These roles make a big difference in how patients experience care.
They help things run more smoothly behind the scenes, keeping teams in sync and improving operational efficiency in healthcare.
How to assess this in interviews:
During interviews, try live role-plays. For example: “A patient is upset about an unexpected charge. What do you say first?” Look for candidates who:
- Ask clarifying questions
- Avoid jargon
- Give structured, calm explanations
- Know when to escalate without blame-shifting
You’re not just hiring for politeness, you’re hiring for clarity under stress. These skills are the difference between a one-time complaint and a loyal patient.
Bonus: Recognize and reward team members who consistently show this clarity and composure. It reinforces the behavior you want to scale.
3. Turn tough conversations into repeatable playbooks
Healthcare teams deal with emotionally charged conversations daily. The conversations can get difficult, from confused patients asking about test results to families upset about surprise charges.
The goal isn’t to script your staff’s empathy but to equip them with frameworks, phrases, and context so they don’t have to figure it out on the go.
How to make training stick:
Start by identifying common friction points: billing confusion, long waits, or unclear next steps. Create playbooks with:
- Sample scripts and tone guidelines.
- Decision trees for when to escalate.
- Clear, specific guidance that makes it easy for staff to stay calm and explain.
Call them SOPs if it helps with adoption. The goal is to build confidence, not restrict personality. Make training real and continuous:
- Use role-plays and workshops to practice these situations. Let staff rehearse handling tough conversations with clarity and confidence.
- Encourage cross-training so teams understand how different departments work, reducing silos and confusion.
- Provide actionable feedback based on real patient interactions, not vague suggestions.
4. Set clear, measurable service goals for every role
This step is pretty obvious. Without actionable customer service goals, service quality becomes inconsistent. Set measurable targets for each role that align with patient-first care.
These clear benchmarks make sure that you and your team are providing excellent service across the board.
How to put this into practice:
1. Set role-specific, measurable goals like:
- Answer calls within 3-4 rings.
- Respond to appointment emails within one working day.
- Follow up with every discharge patient within 48 hours.
2. Make these visible by posting on team dashboards or internal tools/Slack channels.
3. Track performance and recognize team members who consistently meet or exceed benchmarks.
Craig Stoss, Director of CX Transformation at PartnerHero, says it best:
“If you’re not aligning internal metrics with customer outcomes, you’re just measuring noise.”
Make sure your numbers reflect real patient impact, not just internal KPIs.
5. Collect and act on patient feedback quickly
Most patients won’t tell you directly about poor customer service. They’ll just stop coming back.
In our latest podcast episode, when we spoke to Kel Kurekgi, the Director of Developer Support at Zapier, he put it simply:
“Most people won’t tell you they had a bad experience; they’ll just leave. You need to make it safe for them to share.”
So get as much customer feedback as possible and quickly as possible, either in person or via email. Don’t wait for an annual survey to know what’s working. Patients will tell you what they think if you ask.
In addition to surveys and direct conversations, keeping an eye on online reviews is a simple but powerful way to understand patient sentiment. You’ll often spot issues or patterns of poor service there that help identify areas for improvement.
How to get and act on feedback?
- Introduce simple, low effort, immediate feedback options like text surveys after appointments or comment cards in waiting areas.
- Review feedback daily and look for recurring pain points.
- Make it anonymous if needed. This will make the patients more honest.
- Flag any recurring issues and assign them for resolution.
Bonus: Use patterns in feedback to personalize care. Adjust instructions, communication tone, or follow-up flow to match what patients actually need.
6. Prioritize privacy and data security
In the healthcare industry, a data breach can do more than just damage patient trust. It can trigger lawsuits, HIPAA penalties, and federal investigations.
One misfiled document or an unsecured system can expose sensitive medical records. This can land your organization in serious legal trouble.
Patients may not complain. They’ll just leave and tell others not to come.
How to safeguard data without slowing down service?
1. Ensure your systems are HIPAA compliant (and if you’re using shared inboxes or email systems, confirm they’re secure enough for PHI).
2. Run quarterly security reviews and look for blind spots like printed forms left unattended or shared logins.
3. Assign a privacy officer whom patients can reach out to directly with concerns.
4. Train staff regularly on digital and physical data protocols, especially temporary or rotating staff.
Make data security part of your culture, not just an IT checklist.
7. Use technology to improve service at every step
Patients want to feel informed and supported throughout their care. The end-to-end customer experience in healthcare includes many moving parts, and technology helps bring them together. It improves communication, reduces delays, and makes delivering exceptional customer service in healthcare easier.
Here are a few key touchpoints where technology can significantly enhance the patient experience:
1. Simplify appointment scheduling
This is typically a patient’s first touchpoint with a hospital or clinic. Here, basic information about the patient and their healthcare needs is collected to book an appointment.
- As a healthcare professional, you can make this experience seamless by creating a more intuitive data collection process and minimizing wait times to speak with an agent.
- Invest in accurate and easy-to-use appointment scheduling software on your website, and provide instant appointment confirmation emails or text messages.
Furthermore, systems should be set up to send reminder emails and text messages before appointments to reduce no-shows and confusion.
Tools like Hiver can support this by ensuring timely, automated follow-ups and reminders.
2. Speed up check-ins and walk-in processing
The check-in process is usually the first in-person interaction patients have with your team. For scheduled appointments, front office and administrative staff must have access to all necessary information the patient provides when booking.
- To achieve this, maintain a centralized system for storing patient records.
- This background information will minimize wait times and help patients receive care promptly.
- For walk-in visits, make data collection as seamless as possible.
- Technology can collect and store all necessary patient information in a centralized system, ensuring that doctors and nurses can access complete records during treatment.
These steps help ensure a smooth customer experience and minimize appointment wait times.
3. Equip doctors and nurses with real-time data access
This is where doctors and nurses finally come into the picture. The key to helping them provide better customer service is equipping them with the right tools.
- Allow healthcare professionals to access medical records and diagnostic tools quickly, enabling faster and more accurate decisions.
- Additionally, doctors and nurses should be able to easily record observations, note patient concerns and questions, and document final diagnoses and recommendations.
4. Organize follow-up care and coordination
Most healthcare procedures require multiple activities and follow-up appointments. Patients may need additional tests, follow-up visits, or specialist referrals for dedicated treatment and diagnosis.
- Most healthcare interactions involve more than a single appointment, adding complexity.
- According to Deloitte’s research, this seamless transfer of information or the lack of it, across departments and specialists, is a significant point where healthcare customer experience often falters.
- This is where investing in centralized customer service software becomes crucial. Such software can streamline the transfer of information across departments and specialists. A single, centralized patient portal for communication and collaboration ensures that all relevant details are stored and shared efficiently and accurately. This reduces the risk of errors and ultimately creates a positive patient experience.
8. Make wait times and scheduling smoother with automation
Patients hate waiting. And your staff likely spends too much time on tasks that could be automated, like sending reminders, rescheduling missed appointments, or chasing paperwork.
That’s time and energy better spent on care.
Here’s where automation can make things smoother:
1. Appointment confirmations and reminders: Send emails or texts automatically before a visit. This will reduce no-shows and last-minute calls.
2. Online self-scheduling: Let patients choose slots through a secure portal instead of calling back and forth.
3. Post-visit follow-ups: Automate check-ins or surveys based on visit type.
4. Smart triage systems: Route patients with urgent needs (like emergency) to the right teams faster.
Digital patient portals give patients visibility and control. When patients can check records, manage appointments, and message their providers directly, the entire experience becomes more transparent and easier.
9. Let staff take ownership and make decisions
When a patient’s stuck waiting or confused about a bill, the last thing they want is for their staff to say, “I need to check with my manager.”
If frontline staff feel empowered to handle problems, service becomes smoother, and patients notice the difference.
How to achieve this?
- Give staff the authority to resolve issues on the spot, whether offering a follow-up call, waiving a minor fee, or adjusting an appointment.
- Create clear guidelines for handling common scenarios, like appointment changes, billing questions, or delays.
Lynn Hunsaker, Chief Customer Officer at ClearAction Continuum, said in our podcast:
“Empowering frontline teams to solve problems early is one of the fastest ways to improve the customer experience.”
This ownership earns trust with every interaction. When staff can handle problems confidently, patients feel heard. And the whole team works better together.
10. Keep every teammate on the same page
Nothing annoys a patient more than being told one thing by one person and something else by another. Poor communication between teams can leave patients feeling like they’re getting mixed messages or, worse, no message at all.
How to fix it?
- Use centralized platforms where everyone can access and update patient records and notes, from the front desk to nurses and billing.
- Regular cross-department meetings or huddles can help teams stay aligned and address potential issues before they impact patients.
When teams communicate well, patients get clear, consistent information, and care feels more coordinated.
11. Make it easy for patients to reach you
Some patients like calling. Others prefer texts or online chats. Make sure they have options. When patients can’t reach you easily, it leads to frustration and missed opportunities for connection.
How to achieve this?
- Set up multiple support channels and make sure they’re all monitored consistently.
- Create clear processes for managing each one, whether it’s a dedicated phone line, a shared inbox for emails, or an online chat system.
- Train staff to handle each channel with the same level of care and professionalism.
When patients can reach you on their terms, it creates a sense of accessibility, which goes a long way.
12. Regularly review service metrics and adapt
Service isn’t a “set it and forget it” thing. You need to monitor what’s working and what’s not and adapt as necessary to keep improving.
This culture of continuous improvement starts with listening. However, it can’t stop there. You need to act on feedback, update processes regularly, and look for small ways to make things better every day. That’s how real progress happens.
Lynn Hunsaker, Chief Customer Officer at ClearAction Continuum, shared a simple but powerful idea about doing that in our podcast:
“Identify two to four common themes among your customer complaints and solve those first.”
How to achieve this?
- Set clear metrics to measure, like response times, first-contact resolution rates, and patient satisfaction scores.
- Review these metrics regularly, weekly or monthly, and identify patterns or areas that need improvement.
- Share these insights with your team and brainstorm solutions together. When something improves, celebrate it. When it slips, fix it together.
When you make service metrics part of your routine, you show your team that good service is part of the culture.
13. Be transparent about costs upfront to avoid billing surprises.
Unexpected bills are one of the top reasons patients leave negative reviews or avoid returning. Even if the care was good, unclear pricing damages trust.
How to fix it:
- Offer cost estimates upfront where possible, especially for routine procedures or diagnostics.
- Train staff to explain what’s covered and what’s not in plain language.
- Share a printed or digital summary of expected charges before the visit ends.
When patients understand what they’ll pay and why, they’re more likely to return and refer others.
14. Assign dedicated support for long-term or high-risk patients.
Patients with chronic conditions, post-surgical recovery, or multiple specialists often feel lost in the system. A small, consistent support team can differentiate between confusion and supportive care.
How to do this:
- Assign a care coordinator or case manager for complex cases.
- Use shared tools to keep notes, preferences, and history in one place.
- Schedule regular check-ins or follow-ups proactively.
This kind of dedicated service boosts satisfaction, improves health outcomes, and reduces readmission rates.
15. Celebrate small service wins internally.
To sustain a culture of great healthcare customer service, recognize the little things your team does right. Catch someone de-escalating a tough call or patiently walking a patient through a confusing form?
Highlight it in your team meeting or Slack channel.
Why it works:
- Builds morale.
- Reinforces desired behavior.
- Keeps service top of mind in a high-pressure environment.
Recommended reading
What challenges are there in providing excellent customer service in healthcare?
Patients often find themselves stuck in long appointment queues, confused by conflicting instructions, or passed from one department to another with little clarity. For staff, the pressure is constant with high volumes, outdated tools, and strict privacy rules, making even simple tasks harder than needed.
The good news is that these problems aren’t unsolvable. But we need to understand what’s getting in the way before we can fix it.
Let’s break them down.
1. High patient volumes overwhelm staff. When schedules are overloaded, visits feel rushed, and wait times grow.
▶️ Implement online self-scheduling, automated appointment reminders, and digital check-ins to reduce bottlenecks. Reserve same-day slots for urgent cases.
2. Strict privacy rules like HIPAA slow down updates. Staff may delay sharing updates if unsure about HIPAA rules.
▶️ Use secure messaging platforms with role-based access. Provide scenario-based privacy training so staff know exactly what they can share and how.
3. Miscommunication with patients leads to confusion and dissatisfaction. Patients getting different answers from different people creates confusion, adds stress, and makes it harder for them to follow through with treatment.
▶️Standardize how your team communicates. Use clear protocols, checklists, and shared updates to reduce mixed messages.
4. Outdated technology slows down service. Legacy systems slow down record access, billing, and scheduling.
▶️Upgrade to an integrated EHR/CRM that supports real-time updates, centralized patient data, and secure communication in one system.
5. Staff burnout from constant pressure. Heavy caseloads and emotional interactions drain energy, leading to shorter tempers and errors.
▶️Track workload by staff member, redistribute when needed, and rotate high-stress duties. Schedule protected break times and offer wellness resources like counseling.
6. Cultural and language barriers create service gaps. Patients from diverse backgrounds may not fully understand instructions, especially if English isn’t their first language.
▶️ Provide 24/7 interpreter services (phone or video), pre-translate key documents, and train staff on cultural norms that may affect care preferences.
7. Inadequate customer service training results in inconsistent experiences. Service quality varies widely between staff without proper training, creating a confusing patient experience.
▶️Conduct quarterly training using real patient cases. Pair new hires with service “mentors” for shadowing during their first month.
8. Multiple hand-offs between departments confuse patients and slow down service. This can also cause patients to repeat themselves.
▶️ Assign a single point of contact for each patient’s case. Every transfer must include a documented status update in the shared system.
Great service in healthcare is about building systems that support patients, guide staff, and adapt when things go wrong. Tackling these eight challenges head-on is how you get there.
Practical tips to improve customer service training in healthcare
Most customer service training tells staff what to do. However, it rarely shows them how to handle real problems, like when a patient is upset or systems break down. That’s why so much training feels disconnected from your team’s work.
Training has to be practical and real to truly support patient-centered care. It should help every team member feel confident handling the challenges they face every day.
Here’s how to make it worthwhile:
- Use real examples from your clinic. Base scenarios on complaints or service gaps, such as missed results, billing confusion, or long waits, so lessons feel relevant.
- Teach a simple, reusable response structure. Train staff to use a structured approach of listening properly and explaining things in plain language.
- Run short refreshers every month. Keep sessions to 15 minutes and tackle one issue at a time, like handling late arrivals or calming frustrated walk-ins.
- Involve other departments. Invite colleagues from billing, lab, or IT to explain their processes so staff can answer patient questions without unnecessary hand-offs.
- Review one real call or email each week. Listen to a call or read an email thread together and discuss what worked, what didn’t, and how it could be improved.
- Measure if training works. Track metrics like CSAT, repeat contact rates, and time to resolution to confirm whether training is having an impact.
- Spotlight great service moments. Share specific examples of staff going above and beyond so others can model the same behavior.
- Involve patients in the training process. Invite patients to share experiences that made them feel supported or frustrated, so teams understand the direct impact of their actions.
- Use microlearning formats. Deliver lessons in short videos, quick quizzes, or scenario cards that fit busy schedules.
- Pair new hires with mentors. During their first month, have them shadow experienced staff to learn service standards in real situations.
- Create a service playbook by role. Provide clear scripts, dos and don’ts, and escalation steps tailored to each role.
- Make service part of onboarding KPIs. Make customer service performance part of onboarding requirements and regular performance reviews.
It’s a team that knows how to respond clearly and calmly, even when things go sideways. Keep training grounded in real life; you’ll see the difference in every patient interaction.
Real-life examples of excellent customer service in healthcare
Excellent customer service starts with real moments. A patient is confused, frustrated, or anxious, and someone steps in to help, clearly and calmly. These moments make patients feel cared for. They show patients that they’re not just a number.
When hospitals solve problems quickly and treat people with care, they remember. This makes them more likely to return and tell others about their experience.
Let’s look at a few standout examples. These stories show how healthcare providers take patient frustrations and turn them into smoother, more human experiences.
1. Seha Virtual Hospital: Bringing Specialized Care to Remote Patients
In Saudi Arabia, distance made specialist access difficult. The Ministry of Health launched Seha Virtual Hospital, connecting patients to 44 specialties via video and remote monitoring. Partnering with 224 hospitals, they cut travel needs, reduced wait times, and improved satisfaction.
Key takeaways:
- Virtual hospitals can bridge the gap between patients and specialized healthcare.
- Collaboration between digital tools and traditional care provides access and efficiency.
- Remote healthcare solutions improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.
2. Mass General Brigham’s Use of Ambient AI Scribes
Doctors were spending 90 minutes a day on note-taking. The hospital introduced Microsoft’s DAX Copilot, which listens during visits and generates accurate records. Documentation time dropped to under 30 minutes, patient interactions improved, and records became more precise.
Key takeaways:
- AI scribes reduce paperwork and let doctors focus on patients.
- Digital tools like these can boost patient satisfaction and ease staff workload.
3. Cedars-Sinai Connect: AI-Powered Virtual Care for Californians
Long appointment waits frustrated Californians. Cedars-Sinai and K Health created an app where patients enter symptoms, receive AI-generated insights, and then connect with a clinician. Linked to medical records, it enables quick diagnosis and specialist referrals.
Key takeaways:
- Digital tools like AI-powered apps can make healthcare more accessible and efficient.
- Combining technology with human expertise creates a smoother, more personalized care experience.
4. New Hope Fertility Center Improving Patient Support with Hiver
New Hope Fertility Center in New York handled many patient emails daily. Different departments, such as nursing, lab, and billing, use email to communicate with patients.
But messages were getting missed. Some patients waited too long for a reply, while others got duplicate responses. It was frustrating for both patients and staff.
Solution:
The clinic switched to Hiver, an email management tool inside their inbox. With Hiver, staff could assign emails, leave notes, and use alerts to avoid sending duplicate replies. Everything was tracked and organized in one place. No patient query slipped through the cracks.
What happened after:
- The clinic responded to emails twice as fast.
- They saved more than 600 hours a month on email management.
- Staff efficiency jumped by 50%, and patient complaints dropped.
- Even remote staff could collaborate easily and stay on top of patient needs.
“Since we started using Hiver, I’ve seen a huge uptick in the efficiency levels of our staff. Since our staff realize that their performance is tracked and quantified, they’ve started working a lot harder. In fact, we’ve also seen a significant drop in the number of complaints from patients.”
Jennifer Nguyen
Operations Associate at New Hope Fertility Center
Key takeaways:
- Shared email tools like Hiver can cut response times and improve patient satisfaction.
- Features like notes and collision alerts help teams avoid confusion and delays.
- Simple, well-integrated tools can make everyday communication faster and easier.
These stories prove one thing: when healthcare providers put patients first and use the right tools, great service follows.
Making customer service in healthcare smoother
Improving patient service requires consistent, targeted actions. Strong healthcare relationships are built on clear communication, supportive service, and practical steps that create real change. Healthcare organizations already use the strategies we’ve covered to deliver better service.
Here’s where to begin:
- Start by looking at your patient journey.
- Identify the bottlenecks and points of confusion, whether it’s booking, check-in, or follow-up.
- Invest in hands-on training so your team feels confident handling difficult situations.
- Upgrade your tools if your current systems slow you down.
- Track the metrics that matter like response times and satisfaction scores and make changes before small problems become big ones.
- Most importantly, support your team. When staff feel equipped and backed up, patients get better care.
If you’re unsure where to begin, pick one small gap you can fix this week. Simplify appointment bookings. Send clearer instructions after visits. Assign a single point of contact for complex cases.
If you want a tool to make this easier, Hiver can help. It keeps conversations organized, helps teams collaborate, and ensures no patient is left waiting. It’s HIPAA-compliant, easy to adopt, and works like your inbox.
Powerful healthcare support shouldn’t come with a learning curve. Hiver’s free plan makes it easy to get going.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does customer service mean in healthcare?
It means helping patients get clear answers, timely care, and support without frustration. Every interaction, whether it’s at the front desk, over email, or in a follow-up call, should reduce confusion and build trust.
2. What is an example of good customer service in healthcare?
A patient asks about a delayed test result. Instead of saying “I’ll check,” the staff member looks it up, explains the delay clearly, and promises a follow-up by the end of the day and follows through. That’s good service: clear, fast, and reliable.
3. What are the 7 qualities of good customer service?
Good service in healthcare means explaining things simply, responding quickly, owning issues, showing empathy, staying calm under pressure, being consistent across teams, and solving problems before they escalate.
4. What are the 5 R’s of customer service?
The 5 R’s—respect, responsibility, responsiveness, resolution, and reassurance—aren’t just nice to have. They help patients feel safe, heard, and taken care of during stressful moments.
5. Why is customer service crucial in healthcare?
Because patients aren’t just numbers. They’re people, and many are scared, confused, or overwhelmed. When we provide great service, it makes them feel cared for. It helps them stick to their treatment plans. And it makes them more likely to come back when they need help again.
6. How does technology enhance healthcare customer service?
It takes much of the manual work off staff’s plates, like making calls to confirm appointments or digging through files to find test results. With better tools, staff can focus on what matters: answering patient questions quickly and accurately.
7. Why do you want to work in healthcare customer service?
Because healthcare isn’t just about treatment, it’s about how people are treated. Working in healthcare customer service means being there for patients who are often scared, confused, or overwhelmed. Helping someone feel heard and supported during those moments makes a real difference. It’s meaningful work that goes beyond routine service.
8. What is customer service in the hospital?
Customer service in a hospital includes every non-clinical interaction that affects a patient’s experience. It’s how staff communicate, solve problems, and support patients throughout their care journey. Good service here can ease anxiety, build trust, and help patients navigate the system more confidently.
9. What is the most important factor in customer satisfaction in healthcare?
Clarity and empathy. Patients want to feel understood and informed. If staff explain things clearly, listen actively, and take ownership when something goes wrong, patients are more likely to feel cared for, even if their visit was stressful. It’s the human connection that often matters most.
10. Who is customer service in healthcare for?
Customer service in healthcare is for anyone who interacts with patients or supports their journey, like schedulers, nurses, billing teams, lab staff, records departments, and even IT. Every role that touches the patient experience contributes to delivering great service.
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