5 easy ways to improve the patient experience in 2025

Digitization has had a profound impact on how independent practices operate, creating both opportunities and challenges. But while it 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 want to manage their care online, including booking appointments, requesting prescription refills, and connecting with providers. In both cases, while technology augments the patient-provider relationship, it should 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 independent practices.

The rising cost of healthcare means rising premiums for patients. With healthcare continuing to climb, many patients choose high-deductible insurance plans to keep their monthly health insurance payments down. As patients shell out more for each visit, they expect a customer experience to match. 

Benchmark data courtesy of KFF

Complicating things further is the changing landscape of the healthcare market. Big tech is expanding into the healthcare market. Amazon bought One Medical and Pillpack, and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) owns Senosis Health. Consumer companies like Ro Health and Hers also offer specific healthcare solutions. Telehealth exploded during 2020 and has fundamentally changed how we provide care. And while opinions are mixed about the accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) and its role in healthcare, it increasingly seems to be here to stay.

Independent practices must modernize or risk falling behind. One of the best ways to do so is to provide a customer-like patient experience across the patient lifecycle.

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

Your practice website is often your first point of contact with prospective patients. Fortunately for private practices, this can help you gain a serious competitive edge. A clean, professional, modern, and helpful website that’s easy to find creates a great impression.

Websites should be easy to find, with up-to-date contact information and hours. Don't forget to refine your practice’s presence on listing websites, like Google, Facebook, and Yelp, to ensure a consistent web presence. This makes it easy for patients to find your website and improves your search rankings. 

It's also vital to list the services you offer, answer FAQs, and enable online scheduling through your website. Make sure to provide photos of your practice, and share patient testimonials. 

Online scheduling isn't a convenience, it's an expectation. Nearly 3 out of 4 patients prefer to schedule online, according to a report by Tebra. And nearly 2 out of 3 patients are more likely to choose practices that offer online scheduling.

No-shows are costly and over time can restrict your practice growth. According to Tebra's research, patient cancellations and no-shows cost independent practices $7,500 a month. Telehealth appointments reduce no-shows and make it easier to fill last-minute cancellations. Online appointment booking makes it convenient for patients to select times that work best for their schedule and gives them easy access to same-day and next-day appointments. This benefits practices, too: Tebra found that 74% of surveyed Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to attend appointments if offered same-day or next-day options.

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

Independent 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. Digital-native 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 found that 40% of patients want more automated appointment reminders.

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. 

Tebra found that two-thirds of patients want text message reminders for upcoming appointments, and 59% want text message reminders to book their next appointment. 

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. 

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. 

Independent 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.