Look at Your Practice Through Your Patients’ Eyes

Has your practice experienced a decline in patient visits, new patients and new patient inquiries? Have you seen an increase in cancellations or no-shows? Here are three things you can do to help ensure your patients’ satisfaction and loyalty.

Build Relationships – If patients feel that you care about them, they are less likely to seek other practitioners. Build relationships by making eye contact, listening and providing thorough explanations of treatment options and expected benefits. This may seem like a no-brainer, but get to know your patients by name. Use their names when you talk to them. Successful physicians know their patients well. They know their patients’ hobbies and interests and, often, their families, too.

Create Patient Satisfaction Surveys – Survey your patients at regular intervals to determine how satisfied they are with your services, staff and practice. Let patients tell you how they think you can improve your care. Address negative feedback immediately and personally. Call or speak to an unhappy patient and try to resolve their complaints swiftly. They’ll tell their connections how you went out of your way to help them.

Speak Their Language – Talk to your patients, not at them. Explain their health problem and treatment options thoroughly in lay terms, not medical clinician lingo. Patients don’t think in clinical terms, and many are reluctant to ask questions. So try to think like a patient instead of like a clinician. Then speak their language when communicating your services and benefits.

Practice Builders helps physicians, dentists, veterinarians and other healthcare practitioners improve their services and achieve greater healthcare marketing success every day. Ask us how we can help you today.