Figuring out how to deal with difficult patients in healthcare is one of the most painful parts of running a small medical practice. This means you must figure out an effective strategy to deal with difficult patients in healthcare so that you can continue to build and strengthen relationships without draining your resources. Here are the five most effective ways to deal with difficult patients in healthcare:
1. Don’t aggravate the angry patient by not listening to him or her. Merely acknowledging the angry patient’s feelings will help calm him or her down. It will also give you more time to think about how you will respond and fix the dire situation.
2. Never shout. By showing anger, you’ll risk not just losing a patient, but also your precious reputation. Instead, stay calm and weather the storm. After the angry patient has vented out his or her frustration, you’ll have the upper hand.
3. When you are trying to deal with difficult patients in healthcare, always put yourself in the patient’s shoes. Understand the source of his or her frustration, show that you empathize with them, and it will help calm the patient.
4. Regardless of your role in your medical practice, an apology will not do any harm to you. A sincere, well-delivered apology will go a long way towards appeasing an upset patient. The way you say your apology will determine how successful it is.
5. If you don’t know what the upset patient wants, you can’t give it to him or her. Often, difficult patients don’t outline their expectations clearly, and because they aren’t getting what they expected, they become angry. Rather than guessing what will satisfy the problematic patient, ask directly.