Healthcare Customer Service & Patient Experience Essentials™

What you will learn

This program has four parts. By the end of each part, you should be able to:

Part 1: Foundations of Exceptional Patient Experience & Customer Service

• Explain why patient experience matters and how it affects perceptions of care.
• Differentiate customer service from patient experience in healthcare settings.
• Apply a patient-centered mindset to routine interactions across roles and departments.
• Demonstrate professional, respectful, and empathetic communication with patients and families.
• Use clear communication techniques to build trust and confirm understanding.
• Identify how every healthcare employee contributes to a culture of service excellence.

Part 2: Professional Communication, Compassion & Building Patient Trust

• Apply therapeutic communication techniques that build rapport, trust, and patient participation.
• Use active listening, empathy, reflection, and clarification to improve patient and family interactions.
• Communicate respectfully and effectively with diverse populations across healthcare settings.
• Respond professionally and compassionately during emotionally charged or difficult conversations.
• Strengthen interdisciplinary teamwork and handoff communication to support a better patient experience.
• Demonstrate emotionally intelligent behaviors that build patient confidence and service excellence.

Part 3: Managing Difficult Situations, Conflict Resolution & Service Recovery

• Manage difficult patient and family interactions with empathy and professionalism.
• Apply de-escalation techniques during emotionally charged encounters.
• Use a structured service recovery process to resolve concerns and rebuild trust.
• Handle complaints appropriately through investigation, documentation, and escalation.
• Resolve conflict collaboratively while preserving therapeutic relationships.
• Maintain composure and resilience during stressful workplace situations.

Part 4: Creating a Culture of Service Excellence & Patient-Centered Care

• Build a culture of service excellence across healthcare organizations.
• Promote patient-centered care in every department and care interaction.
• Strengthen teamwork and collaboration to improve the patient experience.
• Use patient satisfaction, quality, and feedback data to guide service improvement.
• Lead or support continuous improvement initiatives that improve service outcomes.
• Create a personal action plan for sustaining service excellence and patient loyalty.

Program details

• Self-paced online program for healthcare professionals
• Program length: 10 hours, in four parts
• Includes graded assessments you must pass to complete the program
• Earn a downloadable Certificate of Completion upon successful program completion—ideal for documenting professional development and submitting to your employer for potential reimbursement
• Each certificate has a verification ID that employers can check at nahcp.com/verify

Program length describes the length of the program, not a number of continuing-education credits. Check with your employer or licensing board before submitting a program for credit or reimbursement.