About

The healthcare industry has changed dramatically over the last couple of years, owing to improved availability of health-related information by patients. The improved access to healthcare information, which hitherto was unavailable, has made it easy for patients to demand from healthcare providers, improved quality of care. Besides, the entrance of diverse providers into what has become an extremely competitive environment, means that patients have a wide array of choices in terms of accessing care and are also very cost-conscious than ever before. Patients often make decision about their care mostly on how they feel about their prior experience. Thus, clinical service excellence has become a key competing capability, such that those who provide substandard care, risk having their clients switch to their competitors and consequently go out of business. It is therefore important that healthcare providers such as healthcare facilities, understand not just the importance of providing excellent clinical care, but also have the knowledge and willing to do what it takes to provide excellent clinical care. It is in the context of the need for healthcare facilities to improve the care they provide to their clients that the course on Clinical Service Excellence was developed to equip healthcare practitioners (especially those in the clinical setting) with the knowledge and skills needed to provide excellent clinical care to their patients. The course focuses on capability development, through people and process improvement to facilitate the delivery of excellent care.

The aim of this 3-day short course is to equip participants with relevant knowledge and skills needed to deliver excellent service in a way that meets the needs, wants and expectations of patients. Specifically, the course discusses:

• The current market reality, including more informed and more demanding patients, and the practice of “guestology”
• The three components of the total healthcare experience: Service product, Service setting, and Service delivery systems
• The strategic planning process as it relates to the service strategy
• Evidence-based design and the healing environment
• Patient-focused culture

At the end of the course, it is expected that participants:

• Will be able to address the “why” before the “how” and develop a greater understanding of their patients and their expectations.
• Will be able to make patient service diagnosis, negotiate and resolve expectations and create “moments of truth” that drives positive patient experience
• Appreciate that excellent clinical care is in their long-term strategic interest, in terms of the long-term survival of their organisations and therefore job security.
• Will be able to build and sustain the right culture for delivering excellent clinical services

We anticipate that implementation of new ideas and skills obtained from the course will lead to a transformation in service culture and consequently delivery of excellent care, increased patient satisfaction, patient loyalty and overall growth of the organisation.

The training will be delivered via a combination of lectures, class discussions and case studies. Lecture presentations will be interspersed with videos that capture the issues being discussed as well as examples of healthcare professionals who have worked to evolve solutions to their challenges. The case work will be done in groups so as to help participants improve on their teamwork and people management skills.

Course Outline

Module One: Patient Satisfaction and Competitive Advantage

• Rise of the Healthcare Customer
• Patient Needs, Wants and Expectations
• Patient Satisfaction and Patient Loyalty
• Market Trends in the Healthcare Industry
• Lessons From benchmark Service Organisations
• The challenges of Providing Excellent Service in Healthcare

Module Two: The Patient as a Guest

• The Concept of Guestology
• The Patient Service Chain
• External and Internal Customer Expectations
• Quality Cost and Value

Module Three: The Service Planning Process

• The Strategic Service Planning Process
• External and Internal Assessment
• Mission and Vision
• Service Strategy
• Action Plans
• Alignment Audit

Module Four: The Healing Environment

• Importance of the Service Setting
• Evidence-Based Design
• Healing Environment
• Environmental Trends and Strategies for Engendering Patient Loyalty
• The Four Environmental Dimensions
• Service Scape

Module Five: Developing the Patient Service Culture

• Basic Elements of Culture
• The Role of Leaders in Defining and Teaching a Patient-Focused Culture
• Importance of Customer Oriented Culture
• Communicating the Culture
• Teaching the Culture
• Changing the Culture

Target Audience

The course is designed for all cadre of healthcare staff in a clinical setting and include:

• Medical Doctors
• Nurses
• Pharmacists
• Allied Health Staff
• Administrators
• Accounts and Finance Staff
• Stores and Estate Managers
• Kitchen and Laundry Staff

Facilitator(s)

Date, Venue & Time

Cost

Participant Experience

"The problem of service failure remains acute in many healthcare facilities in spite of the fact that staff have been trained and re-trained on the need to improve customer service. Indeed, when I was informed that management had engaged AiKEN Institute to train all staff on Clinical Service Excellence, I was not the least enthused, thinking that this was going to be one of those, just for the purposes of checking the evaluation box. I was however totally and pleasantly surprised with the Approach of AiKEN Institute in handling this course. The use of different videos not only to practicalise the concepts discussed, but to also prove to us that we can also do it was so inspiring. More importantly, the instructor was so engaging that at a point I thought we cocreated a story that the instructor was giving the opportunity to communicate"

Belinda Nartey, Physician Assistant - Volta River Authority Hospital, Akosombo

"The training on Clinical Service Excellence by AiKEN Institute was absolutely superb and I genuinely enjoyed every moment of it. The content was extremely informative and incredibly useful. The practical nature of the cases made it easy to relate, thereby enhancing teaching and learning. This was indeed a wonderful job and I appreciate the efforts of AiKEN Institute in opening my eyes to the important little things that enhances clinical practice thereby ensuring quality of care, reduction in cost of care and consequently healthcare outcomes."

Dr. Kissi Dompreh-Ofori, Senior Medical Officer/Clinical Lead - Ghana Port and Habours Authority Clinic

"The Clinical Service Excellence Course by AiKEN Institute is indeed an eye opener and career transforming. The instructors used a wholistic approach, emphasising that clinical service excellence is about “never to be Matched patient experience and not just the attitudes of staff, as has mostly been the case in previous customer service course. The AiKEN Institute course emphasises service portfolio on offer, systems, structures and strategy for delivering the service and finally the Setting within which the service is delivered"

Susuana Araphua Van-Brocke, Principal - VRA College of Nursing