Patient Journey
What is a patient journey?
Patient journey is a term referring to a patient’s experience throughout an episode of care, beginning at admission and concluding with hospital discharge.
The renewed focus on patient experience in recent years stems from growing trends in healthcare consumerization and value-based care initiatives. To remain competitive, providers are beginning to consider patients more as customers and, consequently, are working to improve the overall healthcare experience and keep patients within their networks.
Why is the patient journey important in healthcare?
Patient journey mapping allows healthcare providers and other industry stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the patient experience and to find new ways to improve all points of the patient journey.
By understanding the patient journey, providers can build a hyper-targeted experience that addresses the unique needs of each patient and delivers more successful patient outcomes. Improved patient experiences can also save providers money — for example, by reducing the average time to diagnosis.