It’s Time to Revisit the Effect of Wait Times on Patient Satisfaction

As urgent care continues its resurgence from a couple of years in which patient volumes were  precariously low and the healthcare landscape in general was turned upside down, it may be wise to remember what patients came to value about this setting in the first. Key among the attributes, historically, has been convenience. FIERCE Healthcare just published an article connecting the dots between wait times for medical care and patient satisfaction. The worst-case scenario cited is that 30% of patients have left a provider’s office before being seen because they were forced to wait so long. Another 20% said they’ve even considered changing providers after experiencing a long wait. Unsatisfactory wait times also move patients to give poor ratings online, too, of course, possibly steering other people away from one practice to another. JUCM has published numerous articles that could be helpful in ensuring your patient throughput is as frictionless as possible. Smoothing Ebb-and-Flow for Greater Staff Efficiency and Shorter Wait Times in Urgent Care is a good place to start if you need a refresher.