How to WOW your patients

Doctor ?
Nurses ?
The receptionist ?
www.thebestmedicalcare.com

• Why we continue to fool ourselves
successfully
• Only 1 of 20 unhappy patients
bother to complain
• Others walk out
of your clinic and
tell ten others
about their
bad experience.

Convenience ? Cost ?
Clinic ambience ?
Reputation ?
Justdial ? Practo ? Google ?
Referral ?
Parking availability ?

Not your perception – the patient’s
perception
Life is not always fair.Not all busy
doctors are good – and not all good
doctors are busy
No point in complaining about this.
Learn to accept reality !
Soft skills are often more important
than clinical skills

 Loyal patients create your
reputation. Act as ambassadors.
Help your staff perform better by
providing professional
satisfaction
Improve your income – both
financial and emotional!

Help to build a patient service
culture
Create magic with
Right people
Right processes
Right environment

How well does your staff treat
your patients ?
If you treat your staff
well, they will treat
your patients well !
They will copy you !

• Losing patients can be expensive !
• Train them. Respect them. Appreciate
them
• Make sure your staff works well as a
team
• Do not shout at them !
• Working in a clinic can be
thankless job. Help them to
do their best

I. The patient is never an Interruption
- the patient is your work. Everything
else can wait !
II. Greet every patient with a smile.
III. Call patients by their name.
IV. For patients, all staff members are
as important as the doctor !
V. Never argue with a patient. Be a
good listener.

VI. Don’t say, "I don't know.” Say “ I will
find out”.
VII. The patient pays your salary - treat
him like your boss !
VIII. Choose positive words
IX. Always go the extra mile. Exceeding
patient expectations is the best way
of
keeping patients happy !
X. Brighten every patient's day. This will
make your own life happier.

Try taking an appointment
Wait in your waiting room
Help you to think like a patient !
This will make you more empathetic !
« Patient engagement, patient
experience and patient
centeredness » are no longer just
buzzwords !

• Play patient education videos
while your patients are waiting
• Give them tablets to watch
videos
• Do not overbook - respect your
patient’s time

• Follow flowcharts for improving
workflow!
• Need processes which your staff can
follow
How to answer the phone
How to greet a new patient
How to help them fill up a form
Doctors usually create bottlenecks !

No interruptions when you are with
a patient
No phone calls during clinic hours
Return all calls at a fixed time
Intelligent phone systems for
recording all calls. Cloud based
virtual receptionist
I prefer email – no phone tag

•Reminder SMSes to reduce
“noshows”
•Prescribe apps to your
patients
•Set up whatsapp groups
•Ezines

Need to understand your
patient’s wants, needs and
desires
We can learn a lot from 5 star
hotels – they put customers
first
Ask your patients for help !

• Comment cards
–It was easy to get an appointment.
–My doctor answered all my
questions.
–I would recommend this hospital to
friends.
• Telephone calls after their visit.
• Internet surveys by email

This does not mean that there are
no problems or that all your
patients are happy with you
The truth is that most patients
are scared to complain and will
not tell you they are unhappy to
your face

How many of your
patients refer their friends
to you ?

Doctors take pride in their
professional competence
Patients have no way of judging this.
Assume all doctors are competent !
Judge by their behaviour
Need to improve your EQ –
a high IQ is not enough !

“The patient will never
care how much you know,
until they know how much
you care !”

E - Eye contact
M - Muscles of Facial Expression
P – Posture
A - Affect
T -Tone ofVoice,Touch
H - Hearing the whole person
Y -Your response

• Dissatisfaction = Mismatch between
Expectation and Reality
• Satisfied patients will tell three other
people
• Dissatisfied patients will tell 20 others.
• However, if you can satisfy an unhappy
patient, he will tell at least 50 others,
and become your most valuable ally !

There will be slips and lapses
Master the art of service
recovery
Take ownership of the problem –
it’s your clinic !

• R = Re-establish rapport ( empathy)
• A = Agreement ( get the patient to sayYes)
• P = Problem ( define this)
• S = Solution
• A = Ask Permission ( is the patient happy
with the solution you have offered ?)
• N = Next step ( Follow up)
• D = Document

Doctor did not explain properly
Not enough time with the doctor
Unnecessary long wait time
Rude staff
Overcharging
Poor documentation

Treat all patients asVIPs.
Respect them !
The lifetime value of a patient

Happy patients have better treatment
outcomes !
More compliant because they are
engaged
Fewer medical errors , because they
keep the medical staff alert
Less likely to sue
Happier patients heal better !

To cure sometimes,
to relieve often,
to comfort always

Everything else is paperwork !
Need to delight your
patients – one patient at a time
Happy Patients = Happy Doctors,
Happy Nurses, Happy Staff, and a
Happy Family !

How to WOW your patients

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