Getting to Know Your Patients Before You Open Your Doors
1/20/26
Opening a primary care practice isn’t just about finding the right location, assembling a stellar clinical team, or investing in state-of-the-art technology. The foundation for success begins long before the doors open—by deeply understanding who your patients are, what they need, and what they expect from their healthcare experience. At Town Square Health, we believe that truly knowing our patients—and the communities they live in—is essential to creating patient-centered care.
Why Early Patient Engagement Matters
Research and experience show that involving patients and the broader community in the earliest stages of practice design leads to better health outcomes, stronger trust, and higher satisfaction with care. Patient and community engagement is not a one-off survey—it’s an ongoing dialogue that informs everything from program design to workflow creation to how care teams communicate with patients.
Quantitative data—such as surveys and utilization metrics—can tell you what patterns exist in a population. Qualitative feedback—gathered in interviews, focus groups, and narrative responses—reveals why those patterns occur and what they mean in the lived lives of people. Together, they create a rich picture of what patients truly need, want, and value in their health care journeys.
According to Lauren Ranalli, Vice President of Community and Patient Engagement,“To build a primary care experience that feels intuitive and empowering, we have to listen, observe, and engage before we launch. We are not designing services for ‘patients’ in the abstract—we are designing care for real people with real hopes, concerns, and lived experiences.”
That early engagement isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential. When patients are part of the conversation from the outset, practices are more likely to meet actual patient needs, avoid costly redesigns, and build trust with the community before the first appointment ever happens.
Partnering With Sago Health for Deeper Insight
At Town Square Health, we are proud to partner with Sago Health to conduct robust qualitative and quantitative market research that deepens our understanding of what patients want from a primary care experience. Sago Health brings a human-centered research approach, combining traditional market research methodologies with tailored healthcare expertise to deliver timely, actionable insights.
Through this partnership, our teams are conducting:
Quantitative surveys that capture broad patterns in patient preferences and priorities.
Qualitative interviews that reveal the nuances of patient experience—what matters most, what concerns persist, and what patients feel is missing from care today.
By integrating these two powerful lenses, we can design care models that reflect not only what patients say they want but also what they actually experience and value.
This kind of research elevates listening from a checkbox task to a strategic imperative. It ensures that every program we build, every workflow we implement, and every patient touchpoint we design is underpinned by evidence and guided by real human voices.
Engagement Lays the Groundwork for Trust and Better Outcomes
Trust isn’t built in a day. But it begins long before patients walk through the front door. Engaging with patients and community members early creates an environment where people feel heard and valued. This foundation of trust directly influences how patients interact with their care teams—whether they feel comfortable sharing concerns, asking questions, or following care plans.
In primary care research, engagement is not without challenges—especially when it comes to recruiting diverse and representative voices—but the payoff is significant. Studies on patient and community engagement show that when people are meaningfully involved, the relevance of research increases and outcomes become more applicable to real community needs.
Reflecting on the value of this work, Virginia Reising, Nursing Practice & Workforce Development Lead, notes:
“Our nursing and clinical teams are embedded in care delivery, but research like this brings us closer to the patient perspective—not just what we think they need, but what they actually prioritize. That insight shapes how we train, staff, and design care pathways that are truly human-centered.”
This kind of shared understanding lays the groundwork for better patient engagement after the practice opens while also equipping staff with empathy, clarity, and context before the first appointment.
Looking Ahead: A Practice Built Around People
Understanding patients before Day 1 sets us up to deliver a primary care experience that is accessible, equitable, and genuinely responsive to community needs. As Town Square Health prepares to open its doors, there’s one guiding principle we hold firm: we are designing better healthcare, built around you.