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Four pillars of a successful practice: 1. Keep your current patients happy
The cost of maintaining an existing customer is one-fifth the cost of acquiring a new one. Here are a few easy, inexpensive strategies to ensure...
Talk to your patient “eyeball to eyeball.” You make big points with your patient if you speak to her when she is fully dressed and when your eyes are at the same level as hers. A woman lying on her back in a gown or robe does not hear or recall what her doctor is telling her. However, if the doctor and nurse leave the room and allow the patient to get dressed, and if the doctor sits with the patient without barriers between them, she is far more likely to listen and recall what has been discussed.
Pick up the telephone. I am often asked for my “best” idea to keep patients happy. My numero uno suggestion is to take a few minutes to call the patient at home. Which patients should you call? Women undergoing outpatient studies or procedures, those recently discharged from the hospital, and those who require a little more hand holding and attention. You can be sure that every patient who undergoes a procedure or is discharged from the hospital has questions about the findings, any precautions, medications, and follow-up. A call from a nurse or doctor does a lot to allay her apprehension—and it often keeps the patient from calling the office with her questions and concerns.
My nurse identifies key patients and contacts them at the end of the workday. She is usually able to answer all the questions but may identify two or three that require my attention. She tells the patient what time I will call so she can keep the phone line free.
Calling patients usually takes no more than 5 to 10 minutes a day and provides me with great satisfaction. Patients are usually shocked—and happy—that their physician is calling them at home. The advantages of this strategy include:
- fewer calls from your patients
- more efficient use of your time
- deep appreciation by the patient.
One patient I called at home wrote me a note that I think is worth mentioning: “This is the first time a member of your profession has taken the time to call me at home and check on my condition. Undoubtedly, it will foster a better relationship between you and me.”
Are ObGyns in the habit of measuring patient satisfaction?
Results of an informal poll indicate the answer is mostly “Yes”
As outlined in the article by Neil Baum, MD, the need to keep existing patients happy—and to determine how they’re feeling about your practice—seems as though it should occupy a berth rather high on your list of priorities. To gauge how widespread the practice of measuring patient satisfaction is among ObGyns, we polled our Virtual Board of Editors (VBE) on the subject. Because these physicians range from private practitioners to academic professionals and hospital employees, we find them to be one bellwether of wider practice patterns.
When we asked, 65% of our VBE members reported that they regularly measure the satisfaction of their patients. Among the reasons given for this tactic were corporate policy, but the vast majority of respondents indicated that they “need to know what patients like and don’t like” in order to “improve our services.” As one physician noted, “all practices can improve in some respects.” Regular inquiries about patient satisfaction provide a method and rationale for improvement.
Another respondent observed that the information gained from assessments of patient satisfaction is useful during insurance contracting. Another said, simply, “It’s the right thing to do.”
When asked exactly how they measure patient satisfaction, almost 60% of respondents who regularly assess this component of practice said they use surveys to do so, compared with 14% who use interviews, 17% who make a suggestion box available, and 11% who employ a “mystery shopper” (The percentages add up to more than 100% because some VBE members employ more than one approach.) None of the VBE members reported convening a focus group.
When asked to rate the importance of patient-satisfaction assessments, just over half of all respondents characterized it as “very important.” Only one physician reported that the practice of measuring patient satisfaction is “not important.”
“It is critical—especially for doctors with younger practices who are trying to build a reputation or practice—to get feedback to improve care and increase their patient load,” noted one respondent. Another reported: “We do a detailed satisfaction survey after every surgery on every patient. We actively seek feedback and use our Web site and social media to find ways to improve.”
“We are in a large city (over 500,000 population), so there is competition, and patients have choices,” wrote another VBE member. “In smaller communities, patients may have fewer options and have to accept the few available providers. My basic method of achieving patient satisfaction is outdated: I spend a lot of time per patient, see few patients per day, and try to help with whatever issues they have (not just breast and pelvic). I make less money practicing this way—I accepted a long time ago that really caring for patients means spending more time and being paid less for it.”
Another VBE member said, “I promise what I’ll do for patients, and I keep that promise! I use the telephone as a tool. Patients are very impressed and thankful when I talk to them about their problems and test results.”
—Janelle Yates, Senior Editor