You never want to disappoint a patient, although, at some point, you may not meet their expectations for one reason or another. It may be a flaw in your systems, or the patient’s perception of the situation.
When patients feel that you haven’t delivered what they expected, it is essential to manage your response for the best outcome. Depending on how it is received and acted upon, a positive turnaround can occur from a perceived or real, negative experience.
We spend 80% of our energy on 20% of our patients; we need to ensure that the other 80% also enjoy their experience.
The following steps can be shared with your team. These will help diffuse and hopefully solve potential conflicts:
- When a complaint comes in, resist the temptation to get defensive. It is a natural reaction, especially when the patient may be frustrated, in pain, or angry. Thank them for bringing their complaint to your attention to make sure that you understand it from their point of view. Repeating back to them, “If I heard you .. “ will help with resolution.
- Now, you ask the questions. What was the sequence of events? What have they tried already in terms of a solution? The more you know, the more satisfactory your response will be. Even though we sometimes hear similar scenarios, don’t let the patient know that they are being talked to like the anonymous others. Don’t assume; listen to their situation and answer uniquely.
- Don’t tell the patient immediately what they need to do to resolve the problem. Please take responsibility for your side of the issue first or, at the very least, express regret that they have not had a positive experience. If there is a system or protocol, they are referring to that could be changed in the office’s process, then let them know that this will be changed to prevent the problem from occurring again.
- When you and the patient have resolved their concerns, please repeat it. Ask if they agree. This agreement will cement in both your minds what the next step will be.
- Thank the patient for bringing the problem to you. They have done you a favour in at least three ways. They have helped you keep them as satisfied patients. They will likely speak about you positively in public. They could improve the practice for future patients.
It’s also beneficial to develop a communication tree for any patient problems. Define potential scenarios where patients may not be happy, and role-play how you would handle the situation so that your team will feel comfortable in their responses. You will also want to determine the types of complaints that can be handled by the front desk administrators, the ones that need to be escalated to the office manager and the complaints that should be dealt with by the owner. Some owners want to know about every complaint, and some want to become involved at higher levels, ensuring your team understands the difference. Make these escalation decisions in advance to help with clear communication. It’s crucial to enter notes of any discussions with patients into your software so that there is documentation for further reference, which can help improve the patient experience in the future.
By handling patient complaints effectively, you can turn a patient complaint or disappointment into a five-star patient experience. This potential positive outcome should make you feel hopeful and motivated to always strive for the best patient experience.
