Lena H. Sun wrote about an incredible program that has met with a fair amount of success at the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania:

• The hospital system will give patients a refund if they’re unhappy with the care they received.
• This can include anything from having to spend too much time in waiting rooms, to hospital food being subpar.
• This has driven a substantial improvement in patient satisfaction.
• Only co-payments and deductibles are eligible for reimbursement. Over a six-month period $80,000 was refunded.
• Which sounds like a lot, but you’d have to pay a health care consultant a lot more to improve patient satisfaction.
• All of this can be done through an easy to use app which cuts down paperwork.
• Hospital workers have also been empowered with freebies like dinner vouchers, parking passes, and certificates for the hospital gift shop for any on the spot grievances.
• The backers of the program point out that the system gives them real-time feedback on what customer pain points are, and the areas where funding should be focused.
• The creators of the program has a history of innovative medical thinking. They previously launched an initiative which offered patients a 90-day warranty on their surgeries.
• While the program was initially dismissed by others in the industry as unrealistic, other hospitals are now considering similar programs of their own.

The details and history of the program are outstanding. You should read about it here.

Source: The Washington Post

Via: Marginal Revolution