Page 44 - Delaware Medical Journal - September/October 2018
P. 44
HAPPY PATIENTS, HAPPY STAFF:
Done Right, Customer-Service Training Can Make Everyone’s Experience Better
Tina Irgang Leaderman You do your best to spend as
much time as possible with your patients, making sure they feel heard and receive the best
possible treatment. And yet, patients seem to be giving your practice bad reviews online. Sound familiar? If so, it might be time to get your staff focused on customer service.
Many medical practices struggle with
whom patients perceive as rude. In a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey, 47 percent of responding practice leaders said their staff needed more training in customer service.
That kind of training could make the
star review, says Rohan D’Souza, senior vice president at D’Souza & Associates in Hockessin. “You look up certain doctors, and it’s always, ‘The doctor was great and friendly, but the front desk is rude.’”
Patients with these kinds of experiences
“tend to vote with their feet,” agrees Kenneth Hertz, FACMPE, a principal consultant at MGMA. “On the other hand, training people for customer service really helps with the patient experience. ... It creates a better environment, where you have a better patient experience and the employees are happier too. That makes it easier to recruit new employees.”
So, what can you do to get your staff’s service skills up to speed and keep patients happy?
STEP 1: Identify your issues
going wrong:
• Ask your patients. Patient-satisfaction surveys are already in use at many practices, but if the cost of hiring a vendor has been daunting, consider what local resources
you may be able to use for free, says Hertz. “If you’ve got a college or a university in your area that has marketing or business departments, they often look for projects to take on. How cool would it be if you got one
of the classes to create a satisfaction survey that you could give to patients? Or maybe the class will actually conduct focus groups for you.” Also, don’t underestimate the usefulness of simply asking patients about their experience while you’re with them.
• Employ “secret shoppers.” Have one
or two friends or family members call the practice to see what their experience is
like, Hertz recommends. “How many rings does it take to pick up the phone? Did the person answering the phone say, ‘This is Dr. Smith’s practice, please hold,’ or did they say, ‘This is Dr. Smith’s practice, my name is Kim, how may I help you?’”
• Make your own observations. Whenever you have a few minutes, walk around and observe interactions between staff and patients, suggests D’Souza.
• Make use of your practice-management software. Often, your software can tell you things such as how long it takes to sign up
a new patient, or how long patients spend waiting in the exam room. Taking a look at those kinds of metrics can help you identify
