by
Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor | October 28, 2010
Make quality visible to patients
When patients enter an exam room in Busch's department, the first thing they might notice is the smell -- fragrances waft through the air, courtesy of an air-sweetening device made by Aromatao. Also, soothing light shines throughout the room.
While these touchy-feely gimmicks are sometimes off-putting to doctors, Busch says his team found through patient feedback that patients like it. His hospital even ran double-blind studies on the effect of the lights and found recommendation rates were higher for patients who experienced what Busch calls "ambiance."
"It's important not only to have good visible parameters but also to create a good atmosphere in the room," he says. "You must make quality visible for patients."
Busch acknowledges that there is some resistance to these ideas, but he says radiologists can't ignore marketing aspects of their profession.
"This is a new feeling for radiologists," he says. "In the past, they focused only on radiology, but they must sell their radiology to somebody, otherwise even with the best radiology they cannot succeed."
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