Have you ever heard the term “treat ‘em and street ‘em”? It’s often used to describe a healthcare professional who spends hardly any time with a patient and instead hurriedly works them through an appointment or procedure just to discharge them as quickly as possible. Essentially, the patient is treated like a transaction instead of a human being.
While efficiency and a tight schedule are both proven methods to improve patient-provider experiences, it’s at least as important to improve patient experiences by building and growing relationships. Patient impressions aren’t just formed in the dental chair. Those impressions begin the very first time patients call your office.
That’s why it’s important to develop a plan that keeps patient engagement and experiences at the core of your dental practice. Our dental coaches and consultants at Bryant Consultants have spent years sharing with practices how to use patient engagement and experiences to attract new patients and also build relationships and experiences that retain existing ones.
Here are a few effective ways we train our teams to improve patient experiences:
Get to know your patients
The more comfortable patients are with you and members of your team, the more comfortable they will feel sharing information. Some patients may be embarrassed, for example, to admit that they smoke. But in an atmosphere that encourages open, non-judgmental communication, patients feel more at ease about sharing personal information. This opens the door to discussing the impacts of certain lifestyle choices or behaviors on health, which often leads to more positive dental health outcomes.
The best way to start getting to know your patients and opening the door to communication is to ask basic questions — and preferably not while their teeth are being examined — like favorite hobbies or places to visit.
Make time for FAQs
Try to build time into each appointment — either before treatment or after — to allow for a question-and-answer period. This opens the door for patients to feel comfortable asking any questions they may have. And the exchange of information can easily begin the process of building trusting patient-provider relationships.
Be sure patients know that your practice encourages questions, whether they’re asked in the office or from home via email, phone calls etc.
These efforts help your patients know that you care about them and their health.
Show gratitude
Many patients pay attention to the small things a practice does to build trust and authentic relationships. These small things add up and make your practice stand out.
Here are some ideas to help you think of ways you can show patients your gratitude:
- Call new patients the week before their appointment to find out if they have questions or concerns and let them know you’re excited to see them and help with their oral health.
- Write handwritten notes each week to new patients.
- Send small gifts — flowers, gift cards, edible arrangements — to existing patients who referred you to a new patient. If possible, send the gift to the patient’s places of business to create buzz about your practice.
- Send birthday cards or give social-media shout-outs to all patients to recognize a special day or achievement.
- Follow-up with phone calls, texts or emails between appointments.
We know you’re busy, but our dental coaches at Bryant Consultants strongly recommend building time into each day to get to know and recognize your patients. This helps people feel valued, which will help create and grow lasting relationships that only benefit your practice.
