As part of our continued masterclass series, Stephen Shearer, Senior Trainer for the MTA gives a two-minute explanation of what medical tourism facilitators and providers can do to improve their patient experience at last year’s World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress.
“The most important thing for me to get across to people when they think about international patients is that it’s really important to control that experience for the international patient,” said Shearer. “From the moment that individual calls you on the phone, or texts you… that is someone you need to be working with!”
He his advice for improving the patient experience is to make clients or patients feel as welcome as possible. This goes beyond a smile at the front door and extends to making sure they are picked up from the airport and all of their needs are taken care of.
“Treating people like they are your family or friend is really important.”
He further recommends that you reexamine how it is you make patients or clients feel at easy and like they are welcome.
“How do we make people feel welcome? Is it in signage, do we give them a cup of coffee?”
He ends his masterclass with a reminder to all involved in the medical tourism industry as to why we need to make the patient experience as positive as possible.
“People are coming to you and they trust you, and they trust you know what you are doing, and they trust your professionalism”
You can watch the video, in its entirety at the top of this page.
