The benefits of a queue management system for patients and doctors are self-evident. By definition, it shortens queues and makes things easier for visitors and staff.
But can it do the same for hospital administration?
Hospital administration deals with a lot of stress on a daily basis. You have to be informed of your staff, your patients, and the general performance over different wards and departments.
Administration expenses are on the rise, the flow of patients is hard to control, and the entire medical facility.
How can hospital administration make sure it has an edge when managing hospitals?
A queue management system is not a system that only benefits visitors and managers — it also provides value to hospital administration.
Let’s take a look at what hospital managers can take from a queue management system.
The Power of Analytics
The value of a queue system is not only in its power to minimize patient waiting lines but also in the relevant statistics it provides.
For hospital administration, this data offers an objective insight into the medical facility and an opportunity to implement new changes.
Healthcare is an industry that needs constant improvements. With a queue management system, you can effortlessly identify areas where your services are lacking and fine-tune your hospital’s performance.
For example, during flu seasons, when analytics are required on more than a monthly basis, a QMS provides much-needed live reports and real-time data. It also helps keep everything in check during a rush season.
Overall, a queue management system allows for better care coordination and improved treatment process.
More specifically, it allows you to take a critical look at these three areas: performance evaluation, staff planning, and patient satisfaction.
Performance Evaluation
Put it simply, using QMS statistics lets hospital administrators find inefficiencies in medical service provision — like long hospital waiting time, or poor individual treatment. This means that specific actions can be taken to improve the lacking areas.
A queue management provides statistics on two levels of organization. The information can be broad (footfalls over a period of time, average patient count) and narrow (service time, wait time).
As a result, hospital administration is free to tackle general and individual performance.
For a large medical facility with several departments working together, it’s important that everyone is on the same page and services in an optimized way.
This leads us to our next point.
Staff planning
In short, a queuing solution facilitates communication between departments and optimizes workflow between different types of services — front desk, lab, etc.
Front desk receptionists alone will feel much more focused on their task once the burden of registering and gathering patient data on their own is gone.
By observing staff performance, hospital administration can divide employees more strategically across departments. The stats provided by a queue management system may reveal the need to reorganize the internal processes.
And the result?
Proper queue management boosts staff morale.
When everyone knows exactly what they’re doing and focuses on a specific task, this makes for a greater sense of accomplishment.
Another advantage of a queue management system is that it helps keep operational costs in check. A QMS doesn’t require additional staff or technical training.
There is no need for an IT technician. Your staff doesn’t need technical knowledge to operate QMS, and there are no additional costs associated with it.
A queue management takes the workload off of employees by taking care of queue management and registrations instead of a specific person.
Patient Satisfaction
Access to healthcare is a basic need. But it shouldn’t be only limited to access. The quality of care and service provision is also vital.
Similar to a sign-in sheet, a digital queue system gathers patient’s data upon their arrival. Unlike the former, however, a QMS allows to track the specific time of arrival.
With a digital queuing solution, you can see, at a glance, who is waiting in a queue and for how long. It makes all information trackable.
One of the goals of a queue management system is to improve the waiting line experience. It gives your patients peace of mind and freedom to use their time in a way they want.
Word of Mouth
Why is patient satisfaction so important?
It is a common misconception that healthcare only exists to provide medical aid. A good patient service is key to one of the most powerful recommendation tactics — word of mouth.
In some ways, healthcare is similar to retail. A hospital needs to attract new patients if it is to stay afloat. The more patients there are, the better it’s doing.
Despite this similarity, healthcare cannot rely on the same marketing tactics as retail businesses. The nature of the provided services is completely different.
Since health is an important subject to most people, we treat it seriously. We don’t choose a hospital on the strength of its viral ad campaign. We want concrete proof that we’re getting the best medical service.
This is why word of mouth is an integral part of hospital marketing.
Word of mouth uses social interaction to influence the purchases and use of services. Word of mouth is closely linked to what experts call social proof, when people follow the actions of others to get the desired result.
Think about it: If you had to choose between a hospital that paid for a prime-time ad and a hospital your relative recommended, which one would it be?
Humans are a social beings, and we tend to rely on other people’s opinions and perceptions.
Still, it takes many positive endorsements to persuade a person to visit a specific hospital. This persuasion may come in a form of a patient-to-patient discussion, online reviews, or public stories.
Word of mouth, in person or online, increases visibility and improves reputation.
Making your services patient-centric helps influence the perception of your hospital in a positive way. Patients are more willing to recommend your hospital to other people.
Apart from personalized service, queue management systems double as a sign of hospital’s willingness to innovate. Implementation of a queue management system alone greatly improves your hospital’s image.
Whereas sign-in sheets and numbered tickets look outdated, tablet-based registration feels novel. For the healthcare industry, which is synonymous with technologies and innovations, this means improved reputation.
Patients who see an innovative sign-in technology will be more confident in your competence as a medical services provider.
In short, patient satisfaction goes beyond catering to visitor’s needs. When people feel like they’ve built a personal connection with their service provider, their relationship becomes more meaningful.
Qminder and Hospital Administration
Despite its name, the scope of a queue management system exceeds that of a simple queuing tool. Although its main beneficiaries are patients and doctors, hospital administration can reap the benefit as well.
A queue management solution such as Qminder simplifies the work of hospital administration. Once you set up Qminder at your location, you can see the changes happening almost right away.
Be ready, though — you need to put in some work as well.
Your patients — and staff — deserve the best hospital experience, and with Qminder, you can finally give them what they want.
Visit the Qminder Blog for the latest insights into patient service, customer experience and stories of proven success.
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