Digitization has fundamentally changed how private practices operate, creating both opportunities and challenges. While technology offers creative ways to increase patient satisfaction, meeting patients where they are is more important than ever.

Today's patients span multiple generations and comfort levels with technology. Some want to make a quick phone call, while others would rather manage their care online, from booking appointments to requesting prescription refills. In every case, technology should augment the patient-provider relationship to streamline and enhance — not replace — it.

Let’s explore creative ways to increase patient satisfaction, proven strategies to improve the patient experience, and why doing so is important for private practices.

TL;DR: Improving patient satisfaction in 2026 depends on a blend of digital convenience and human connection. Patients now expect a consumer-like experience from their healthcare providers, including seamless online scheduling, multi-channel communication, and easy digital payments. By implementing these foundational tools, private practices can reduce the administrative burdens, decrease no-shows, and build stronger, lasting patient relationships that foster loyalty and retention.

The rising cost of healthcare means rising premiums for patients. With out-of-pocket expenses continuing to climb, many patients choose high-deductible insurance plans. As they shell out more for each visit, they expect a customer experience to match. That positive patient experience is a key component of healthcare quality, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Complicating things further is the changing healthcare industry. Major technology companies have established themselves as healthcare providers, with expanded virtual care options and artificial intelligence-powered health solutions becoming increasingly mainstream. Telehealth is now a standard offering. And while discussion is ongoing about the role of AI in healthcare, it has become part of many medical processes, from automating administrative tasks to clinical decision support.

Private practices must modernize to provide a customer-like patient experience across the patient journey, or they risk falling behind.

Here are 5 foundational tips on how to improve the patient experience.

Your practice website is often the first interaction a potential patient has with your brand. A professional, modern, and easy-to-navigate site doesn't just make a great first impression — it builds immediate trust.

Ensure your website includes essentials like up-to-date contact information, hours, a clear list of services, photos, and patient testimonials. Crucially, it must feature prominent, easy-to-use online scheduling.

Beyond your own site, extend this professionalism to your entire online footprint. Consistently manage your practice’s presence on listing websites like Google, Healthgrades, and Yelp. This consistency is critical for local search rankings and makes it easy for patients to find and contact you. 

Online scheduling is an expectation, not a convenience. Having no online scheduling would make 15% of patients instantly consider switching providers, according to Tebra's 2025 Patient Perspectives survey.

No-shows are costly and over time can restrict your practice's growth. According to Tebra's research, patient cancellations and no-shows cost private practices between
$3,200 and $6,800 per month.

Online appointment booking combats this by making it convenient for patients to select times that work best for them, including valuable same-day and next-day appointments. This convenience pays off: Tebra found that 74% of Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to attend same- or next-day appointments.

Waiting on hold to make appointments, request prescription refills, or ask questions — and only during business hours — is a frustrating and outdated process. Patients want the freedom and control to handle these items on their own time. 

Private practices must offer a multi-channel communication approach to stay competitive. This means providing compliant options for:

By implementing these flexible communication channels, practices can significantly improve the patient experience while reducing staff workload. Patients can self-serve through their preferred platforms, while those who favor traditional methods benefit from shorter wait times due to lower call volume.

Offering more ways to get in touch also supports health equity by accommodating diverse needs and preferences. Whether a patient has hearing limitations, works nights, or just prefers digital interactions, having multiple communication pathways ensures everyone can engage with your practice effectively.

Automated appointment reminders simplify the confirmation process for both the patient and the practice. Patients benefit from having one less thing to remember, and Tebra's 2025 Patient Perspectives survey found that 47% of patients name appointment reminders as the digital tool that makes the biggest difference in their patient experience.

At the same time, practices experience reduced no-show rates with automatic reminders and remove the financial and administrative burden of having to call patients to confirm. Other patients benefit, too; with in-the-moment confirmation or cancellation, patients gain access to a wider selection of appointments as they free up in real-time. 

Patients want an easy and convenient way to pay bills on their own time, keep track of medical expenses, and track progress on payments. Online payments are the de facto way to pay today, and practices must keep pace with these billing practices or risk losing patients. 

On the practice side, online billing has big benefits, too. Practices can eliminate the hassle of paper billing, receive payments more quickly, streamline the reimbursement process with insurance, and help the billing team keep track of patient payments. 

CentralMed Urgent and Primary Care aimed to differentiate itself with a modern patient experience. After implementing Tebra's patient engagement tools, including online appointment booking, digital intake, and automated review requests, it saw a dramatic positive shift. Half of all appointments are now booked online, and the volume of patient reviews has tripled. Learn more.

Once you have the above foundational digital tools in place, you can elevate the patient journey with the below creative, forward-thinking strategies to create patient satisfaction. These methods focus on personalization, patient engagement, and building deeper trust.

Embrace technology that supports interoperability, or secure health-data sharing, to create a seamless patient journey. Interoperability, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), helps providers deliver better, safer care with smoother referrals to specialists, less redundant paperwork for patients, and a more complete health picture for providers. A practice that makes a patient's health data portable and accessible demonstrates a patient-first commitment.

Go beyond appointment reminders. Use your patient engagement platform to create a personalized follow-up experience. Send automated, secure messages with post-visit summaries, links to relevant educational materials about a patient's condition, or reminders for preventive screenings (e.g., flu shots, annual wellness visits). This shows patients you see them as individuals, not just appointments on a calendar, fostering a stronger, more trusting relationship.

Empower patients by providing clear, easy-to-understand educational resources. Create a section on your website with articles, videos, or infographics explaining common conditions and treatments relevant to your specialty. When you share information in plain language and multiple formats, you accommodate different learning styles and help patients become more active participants in their own care, which builds confidence and trust in your practice.

Actively solicit and, more importantly, act on patient feedback. Use automated post-visit surveys to ask specific questions about the patient experience, from scheduling to communication. Close the loop by sharing improvements you’ve made based on that feedback, perhaps in a quarterly patient email. This transparency shows patients that their voices matter and that your practice is dedicated to continuous improvement.

Integrate artificial intelligence to handle routine administrative tasks and patient queries, freeing up staff for more complex patient needs. AI-powered chatbots on your website or patient portal can answer common questions about hours, services, or billing 24/7. It's critical that any AI tools handling protected health information (PHI) are used in a way that complies with the HIPAA Security Rule to ensure patient data remains protected.

Patients today expect a consumer-like level of customer service from their medical providers. 

Digitized processes that streamline the patient experience across the patient lifecycle are no longer just nice to have. The rising costs of healthcare coupled with the digital, on-demand world we live in today mean patients expect modern conveniences from their medical providers, like online scheduling, text message communication and reminders, and easy online payments.

Private practices that provide the digital infrastructure to improve the patient experience, and explore creative ways to increase patient satisfaction, benefit from better patient retention and improved office workflow.