University hospitals in Korea were once notorious for their unkindness, authoritativeness, and lack of communication.
However, hospitals have recently turned over a new leaf and started to focus on customer satisfaction.
Severance Hospital, in particular, showed a stellar performance in terms of satisfying patients and guardians.
The results were portrayed in the recent industry-wide National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) survey, conducted by the Korea Productivity Center (KPC), where Severance Hospital topped customer satisfaction in the nation’s entire industries in the fourth quarter of 2022 for two consecutive years.
NCSI measures and quantifies the level of satisfaction of customers who have directly used products and services produced domestically or overseas and sold to domestic consumers.
Notably, Severance Hospital received the highest score in the NCSI survey with 85 points in the fourth quarter survey, which included customer opinions from all industries including finance, retail, medical care, education, airlines, and hotels.
Severance Hospital’s scores were higher than service-oriented industries such as airlines and hotels thanks to its patient-centered, AI-backed digital technologies for easier appointments and treatment schedules.
Among hospitals, Severance Hospital ranked first in the NCSI survey for a whopping 12 consecutive years.
The hospital's highest NCSI score is also attributed to the hospital’s ceaseless effort to collect over 500 pieces of patient feedback every week to look for any opportunity to improve services for patients.
Digital technology to enhance patient convenience
Severance Hospital is one of the oldest Western-style hospitals in Korea but it is actively utilizing digital technology to improve patient convenience.
The hospital recently introduced AI Serabot to help patients keep track of their treatment schedule. When the appointment date approaches, the AI voice bot automatically calls the scheduled patient, informs the treatment schedule, and tells which physician the patient will see.
Also, the "My Severance” app helps the user easily navigate the hospital and make medical appointments.
To reduce the hospital stay time for outpatients, it notifies them of the waiting order before treatment and helps them return home quickly and safely through the parking location search function.
In addition, unmanned kiosks at the hospital create a smooth outpatient treatment environment.
When patients arrive at the outpatient clinic, they do not have to wait to see a nurse but are notified of their arrival through a kiosk and receive a reception number.
Self-measurement kiosks, such as blood pressure, height, and weight measurement, were also introduced to all departments, and the measurement results were linked to the electronic medical record system (EMR), eliminating the need for patients to carry result sheets.
Also, first-time patients can access information videos using QR codes to learn the process for medical checkups and treatment.
Videos are also provided to explain the characteristics of each hospital, such as Yonsei Cancer Hospital and Severance Children's Hospital.
Frequent hospital satisfaction surveys for patients, guardians
Aside from using the latest technologies to improve patient satisfaction, Severance Hospital is also frequently collecting opinions from visitors.
The hospital has been conducting satisfaction surveys for admitted patients and guardians via mobile phones. In 2021, the hospital expanded the survey to outpatients.
The hospital’s management discusses key messages from the survey at a weekly meeting and designates a department to address the issue immediately. A cooperative system between departments also enables fast problem-solving.
The hospital also holds a special lecture, called "We Make Severance," for hospital staff that comes into contact with patients to create a patient-centered culture to empathize with the inconveniences of visitors and enhance their problem-solving skills to seek solutions actively.
Severance Hospital is also striving to spread a culture of respect for patients by operating a "physician rounds question board," which allows patients to write down their questions in advance, such as their condition or future treatment plans, so they can listen to detailed explanations during the rounds.