Flat screen televisions, room service meals and massage services are amenities available at many hotels, but these luxurious perks are also starting to appear in hospitals across the country.
Some hospitals are so luxurious that it is difficult to tell them apart from hotel accommodations. The New York Times published a series of photos of hospitals and hotels and asked the reader to guess which was which.
It wasn’t easy.
Dr. John Romley, professor at the University of Southern California’s Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, told The New York Times that his research shows a higher correlation between patient demand and amenities than the quality of medical care the patient receives.
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has seen positive results after launching an ad campaign showing off some of their luxe amenities with the tagline “Better Way to Get Better.”
As a result, the percentage of patients that said they would recommend the hospital increased from 71 percent to 85 percent, according to the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.
In an effort to better serve the patients’ needs, instead of hiring a healthcare executive to run a new hospital in 2006, Michigan’s Henry Ford healthcare system hired an executive from the luxury hotel chain, Ritz-Carlton.
“The voice of the customer may be the best kept secret in healthcare, but that’s changing as consumers exert greater control over how their healthcare dollars are spent and exercise power to vote with their feet and wallets,” said Kelly Barnes, U.S. Health Industries leader for PwC, in a press release. “Hospitals and insurers are competing for loyal customers served by new care and coverage models in a more retail-oriented health market.”
In a 2012 study by the Health Research Institute about customer experience in healthcare, about a third of respondents said they would switch healthcare providers if they found another provider offering an improved experience.
The study found that patients are more likely to remember a bad healthcare experience than a good one. For choosing a physician or hospital, personal experience was the most important factor listed.
Though nice furnishings and similar amenities might help bring in patients, it is important to keep the patients in mind. Furniture that is not easily cleaned could potentially lead to infection, according to Healthcare Design magazine.
Regardless of luxury, patient care is a must.
