There are many things you can
do to make patients feel welcome in your practice. A friendly
yet efficient telephone receptionist; an appointment system
that allows patients to get in to see you promptly; a
caring attitude; even such things as remembering patients'
birthdays or even occasionally sending a personal note
are all ways that help build loyalty and keep patients
coming back. That's all well and good but for many family
and general practices the problem is too many patients,
not too few.
If there are days when you dream
of reducing your patient load, this may be of help.
On the other hand, if your intention is to build up
your practice by keeping existing patients happy, this
article may also be of use. It details some of the ways
physicians and medical staff turn patients off and send
them scurrying in search of medical care elsewhere.
Too busy/preoccupied receptionist
Few things are more annoying for patients than waiting
at the front desk while the person they expect to greet
them fields phone calls, rummages through files, chats
with another staffer or munches on a sandwich. If this
is a hallmark of your practice and your aim is to reduce
patient loads, keep it up, they'll soon be gone. If
you aim to build your practice, replace the offender
or, if the practice budget can handle it, hire additional
staff.
"...because that's our policy"
Here's a phrase guaranteed to raise the hackles
on even the most passive patients. It can be used in
almost any situation. "Why do I have to wait 10 days
for my test results? "Because that's our policy..."
"Can you tell me what's wrong with my father/mother..."
"No, I can't because that's against practice policy."
You get the idea. Your practice
does, of course, need some rules to run efficiently
but they should never be flaunted as reasons patients
can't have their requests fulfilled. Patients need to
feel they're treated as adults and are entitled to thoughtful
explanations of why requests can't be granted.
Long waits on the telephone
You know how irritating it is to be put on hold
when, for example, you're attempting to check something
on your latest cell phone bill. Many busy medical practices
are just as guilty of this form of rudeness. If fetching
a file or a piece of information is clearly going to
take time, patients should be told up front and asked
to leave a telephone number where they can be reached
when the answer is found. Intent on loosing patients?
Put as many as you can on hold and leave them there
for eternity.
NO-NO
WORDS
Not all the blame for poor communications skills rest
with staff. Your colleagues are just as skilled in the
ways of turning patients off. Negativity is one of the
most effective ways to alienate patients. The use of
such words and phrases as "That can't be done..."; "I
just don't know about that..."; "I know what you're
saying but...(implying they're wrong)..."; and the outright
use of the word "No" put people off.
Wherever possible, you and your
staff should take care to couch news � even when it's
bad � in as positive a way as possible. Tone of voice
has a lot to do with the way information is received.
Encourage those who work in your practice to use warm,
soft tones that suggest empathy and understanding �
and to look patients in the eye when talking to them,
just as your mother, and their mothers too, taught them
to do.
Unless, of course, you're trying
to get rid of them in which case you can keep glancing
at your watch.
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