Practice Management Alert

Question: One of the physicians in our office is great about medicine but kind of terrible in terms of building rapport with patients. I have a feeling his distance is affecting our reputation — and our bottom line — but I’m not sure how to approach a conversation.

Minnesota Subscriber

Answer: Take this as an opportunity to schedule a “boost patient satisfaction” in-office seminar with all of your employees. If you can’t corral everyone at once, hold one for front desk staff, one for healthcare practitioners, and one for your billing employees or department.

Take it all the way to basics, with these tips for patient interaction from Wendy Leebov, EdD, and Gail Scott, MA, in their book Service Quality Improvement: The Customer Satisfaction Strategy for Health Care:

a. “Break the ice: make eye contact, smile, call people by name, express with words of concern.
b. “Show courtesy: Kind gestures and polite words make a patient very comfortable.
c. “Listen and understand: encourage patients to tell their problem. Invite and answer their questions.
d. “Inform and explain: it promotes compliance. People are less anxious when they know what’s happening.
e. “See the whole person: see beyond illness the whole person.
f. “Share the responsibility: risks and uncertainty are facts of life in medical practice. Acknowledging risks builds trust.
g. “Pay undivided attention: this reduces distractions and interruptions as much as possible.
h. “Secure confidentiality and privacy: watch what you say, where you say, and to whom you say.
i. “Preserve dignity: treat the patient with respect. Respect modesty.
j. “Remember the patient’s family: families feel protective, anxious, frightened, and insecure. Extend yourself, reassure, and inform.
k. “Respond quickly: Keep appointments, return calls, and apologize for delays.”