Letters from Maine

Time for a facelift?


 


A smiling nurse holds a clipboard. Juanmonino/Getty Images
How friendly is the face of your office? You probably don’t have many patients who are as bold as I am to tell you that your assistant needs to smile more. But you may have seen or heard some exchanges between support staff and patients that make you cringe. Or, is your office organized like a fortress that isolates you from staff/patient interactions by doors and those customer-unfriendly sliding glass windows?

If you are aware of staff members whose behavior could be more customer friendly, have you said something to them? It can be touchy. You probably aren’t their supervisor. They may not being doing anything wrong. But their failure to make a pleasant and caring first impression may be making your job more difficult.

Dr. William G. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years.

Dr. William G. Wilkoff

Maybe it is a systemic problem that goes beyond the support staff. Could it be time to hire a consultant to help facilitate an office-wide facelift?

Dr. Wilkoff practiced primary care pediatrics in Brunswick, Maine, for nearly 40 years. He has authored several books on behavioral pediatrics, including “How to Say No to Your Toddler.” Email him at pdnews@mdedge.com.

Pages

Recommended Reading

Cancer clinics continue to close and consolidate
MDedge Internal Medicine
Grind it out
MDedge Internal Medicine
MDedge Daily News: Can a nasal spray reverse suicidality?
MDedge Internal Medicine
MDedge Daily News: Which diabetes drug boosts survival best?
MDedge Internal Medicine
Doctors call for a pause to rethink MIPS measures
MDedge Internal Medicine
MDedge Daily News: Doctors say no to pot for sleep apnea
MDedge Internal Medicine
Musculoskeletal procedures predominate in top 20 surgeries
MDedge Internal Medicine
Surgeries account for almost half of hospital costs
MDedge Internal Medicine
Will patients get on board with CMS’s new health data approach?
MDedge Internal Medicine
Federal court puts chill on Maryland drug price-gouging law
MDedge Internal Medicine