You might not think a medical practice has anything to do with garbage collection. I would argue otherwise. My colleague shared a story with me yesterday that drew the connection.
Insights on Healthcare Marketing
June 21, 2013
Unreturned Calls: Is Anyone Listening?
Everyone misses calls. Your reaction when it happens makes all the difference though. When a patient leaves you a message, do you view it as an opportunity to reconnect and dazzle or just another annoyance in your day, or worse yet, something to be ignored entirely?
Unreturned calls are lost opportunities. And lost opportunities can lead to lost customers/patients.
A friend of mine recently had a Dr.’s office call to reschedule her appointment. She was in a meeting and missed the call. She called back as soon as she could but had to leave a message. No one returned her call. She waited a day, called back again and had to leave another message. Still no return call.
June 13, 2013
Broken Branches and Dead Limbs: The Problems with Phone Trees
Phone trees. Almost everyone has them these days. Yes, they cut down on the expense of having to pay people to answer your phones, but at what cost?
When was the last time you made a call and had a wonderful experience with a phone tree — one that enhanced access and service, and made you feel elated about that company/organization and valued as a customer?
Occasionally, there are phone trees that work. I like that if all I have to do is order a refill on my prescription, I can call up my pharmacy at any time of the day that is convenient for me, punch in the right #s, and it is ready for me to pick up at my desired time.
April 24, 2013
Do You Really Care?
A new, elderly, arthritic patient walks into your office. You are missing paperwork from her -- some from her referring physician and some you need her to complete. The patient is clearly nervous, rattled and upset because she thinks she has done everything that was needed. Do you hand her a pen, slide the window shut and go about your work? Or do you offer to help her call the referring Dr.‘s office? Do you ask if she needs to use a phone? When you see her arthritic hand fumbling with the pen, do you offer to help her? Do you care?
April 3, 2013
Avoiding and Diffusing Drama
I recently read a great article by Marlene Chism who is the author of the book Stop Workplace Drama. She talks about both positive and negative energy and how when drama surfaces in healthcare, patient satisfaction goes down, turnover is rampant and your practice’s prosperity is threatened. She believes that there are three core components of drama:
- A lack of clarity
- A relationship issue
- An energy issue
I believe that better and more frequent communication, and fostering a culture that supports your employees are the two keys to minimizing or even eliminating drama.
March 21, 2013
How Smart is Your Practice?
Your patients are on the go more now than ever before and are increasingly dependent on their smart phones for the information they need to guide their lives. In fact, some experts predict that by the end of this year, more than 90% of mobile phones will be smart phones. Prosumers want physicians with both both web and offline platforms, patient testimonials, physician bios and a portal that meets their timelines not just the practice’s timeline. Does your practice have a mobile-optimized Web site?
March 8, 2013
The Glass Wall
We’ve all heard of the glass ceiling, but what about the glass wall? It is that barrier to service -- sometimes real and sometimes just perceived -- when you first walk into a Dr.’s office and no one welcomes you. No doubt you remember the old sliding window with the sign-in clipboard outside it that basically said “Whatever I’m doing is more important than saying Hello to you and making you feel welcome in our practice.” Never mind that you may be nervous, scared, confused or just not feeling well. We don’t care yet.
February 26, 2013
Five Little Things That Make a Big Difference
Want to improve patient satisfaction? Strengthen referral relationships? Attract new patients/customers? Try these on for size.
February 14, 2013
Don’t Play the Technology Blame Game
A colleague of mine recently shared a story that hit home.
At a recent Dr.’s appointment, her physician re-authorized a daily health maintenance prescription and with a click of a button on the EHR, sent it to her pharmacy. Beautiful. Efficient.
Only, it didn’t work ...
My friend was headed out of town that week and ran into the pharmacy to pick it up the next day -- but it wasn’t there. The pharmacy said they never received it. She called the Dr.’s office, had to leave a message and received a message back, assuring her they had sent it. Called the pharmacy -- they still hadn’t received it. And the finger-pointing blame game began.
He said. She said
Back and forth, back and forth, for two days.
January 22, 2013
Reach Out
The field of medicine is changing at a breakneck pace, and no doubt you experience this in your own practice. The diagnostic tools and treatments available to you today are probably quite different from what they were a decade ago. Yet, you probably have less personal contact with those who need to know what you are doing and how you can help patients than ever before. So what to do? Send a letter? E-mail? Run an ad? Update your Web site? Tweet? Facebook? All of those things can help, but with all the “clutter” we contend with every day, the most powerful tool to share your message is still you. So make the time to meet face to face. It may be the best New Year’s resolution and marketing strategy you can make for your practice.