Last updated 03-04-2020
By:
Jessica Wise
About a year ago, I was suffering from constant burning stomach pain and cramping.
I felt like there was a flame-thrower airbrushing my insides.
For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I was in so much discomfort.
I wasn’t overweight (though I was no Gisele Bündchen), drank enough water and ate a relatively balanced diet.
My feet were dragging when it came to making a doctor’s appointment because my employer had just changed insurance providers. And, unfortunately, I was going to have to find a new family doctor.
I despised going to the doctor as it is, but now I was going to have to start all over again? Ugh.
The thought of telling all my problems and personal history to someone who didn’t know me at all made me cringe.
But, as the intestinal forest fire raged on, I finally gave in and searched for doctors in my network that were accepting new patients.
True to my meticulous nature, I then conducted a corresponding Google search to ensure I chose the pick of the M.D. litter.
When the day of my appointment came, I was pleasantly surprised.
Dr. Joe was kind, intelligent and seemed genuinely interested in my struggle.
Not only that but as he examined me, he asked about my work and home life. We even found we had a mutual love for live concerts and classic rock.
He ended the visit by ordering a few tests and assuring me we’d get to the bottom of my stomach issues.
Dr. Joe kept his word. A few days after my visit, he called me personally to let me know that I had Chronic Acid Reflux and Gastritis.
But, he also assured me that he had a plan, and that I would be feeling better in no time.
Why Patient Personalization Is So Important
During my research for this article, I was shocked to find that I am not alone in my tendency to meticulously pre-screen physicians.
In fact, I found that most people do research on healthcare providers before they make their first appointment.
Almost three quarters (72%) of patients use online reviews as the very first step to finding a new doctor. (Software Advice)
And, the patient feedback they find determines whether they will make an appointment with you or move on to the next provider on the list.
What are potential patients looking for exactly?
Yes, they’re curious about wait times, office cleanliness, and how many “stars” you have. But, what’s really important to them is how you interact with the people you treat.
84% of consumers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business. (Salesforce)
Personalization! That’s what the people want!
So, without further ado, let’s give it to them! Here are 3 ways you can make a patient’s doctor’s office visit more personal.
Give Them More of Your Time
Chances are that if a patient has been motivated enough to make an appointment with you, then they have concerns about their health.
Patients want those concerns to be taken seriously, and they also want to feel like you are taking the time to listen, understand and offer an appropriate solution.
However, the average doctor’s visit only lasts about 15 minutes.
Surprisingly, not even that small window of time is fully devoted to speaking with and examining the patient.
A study by the American Medical Association found that when doctors are in the examination room, they spend roughly 53% of their time focused on the patient, while they devote the remaining 37% of their time to doing paperwork.
This shrinks the actual time dedicated to meaningful interactions with the patient to less than 8 minutes. (Forbes)
Of the top 5 priorities for patients, one-on-one time with their physician came in at #3. With 47% of patients saying, it’s important for them not to feel rushed during an appointment. (Medical Economics)
Source: West
Thus, one small step you can take to make a patient’s doctor’s office visit more personal is to extend your appointment time slots (even if it’s only only by a few minutes).
The extra attention will make all the difference in the patient experience.
Remember Them: Get a Unified View of the Patient
I’m guilty of forgetting peoples’ names mere moments after I meet them. (Yes, I’m one of those).
That’s why I don’t blame doctors for not being able to recall their patients’ intimate details on the fly.
In a typical internal and family medicine practice, the doctor sees an average of 18 patients a day. (MDVIP)
That number equates to 4,320 appointments per year.
It’s no wonder that 25% of patients don’t have a strong sense that their provider cares about them as an individual. (Kyruus)
But, all of that can change if a practice invests in maintaining a unified view of each patient.
Tools powered by cloud connected technology, like feedback survey kiosks and healthcare CRM software, can now easily be used together to gather, process, and store patient data.
Many practices now utilize these tools to collect “silos of fragmented information housed among various IT systems into a real-time, holistic profile to gain actionable insight that fosters better decision making and enables personalized service,” says Brad Bostic, CEO of healthcare cloud software company hc1.com. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
Many practices now utilize these tools to collect “silos of fragmented information housed among various IT systems into a real-time, holistic profile to gain actionable insight that fosters better decision making and enables personalized service.”
– Brad Bostic,
CEO of healthcare cloud software company hc1.com.
Put simply, a patient’s billing, medical, family and personal histories are able to be automatically collected and stored in a centralized location.
Doctors can then reference the information to gain a comprehensive view of each patient during their visit.
This allows practitioners to treat each patient as an individual and build stronger, more meaningful relationships with them.
Personal Follow-Ups
Most practices spend about 90% of their resources to attract new patients (Practice Builders). When, in reality, the real focus should be to retain existing patients.
Acquiring a new customer is 5x costlier than retaining an existing one. (Forrester)
One way to successfully maintain the patient-doctor relationship is through personalized follow-up.
That means the appointment shouldn’t be over when they walk out the front door.
According to Patient Acquisition Specialists at Response Mine Health, “Regular, convenient communication shows genuine interest in the welfare of your patients.”
“Regular, convenient communication shows genuine interest in the welfare of your patients.”
– Response Mine Health,
Patient Acquisition Specialists
Personalized follow-up is one way to ensure that your patients feel recognized and supported.
Though the busiest of physicians may struggle to find the time to make direct phone calls, there are other ways to maintain a steady flow of communication between both parties.
The same AI systems I mentioned earlier (i.e. survey feedback kiosks and healthcare CRMs) can also be used to send automatic appointment and medical reminders.
In addition, survey feedback kiosks also provide an opportunity for patients to leave actionable feedback. The real-time capabilities of feedback kiosk technology allow medical staff to rectify a negative experience before the patient has a chance to leave a bad review.
The kiosk can even prompt patients to leave an online review for the practice and generate a referrals.
The Bottom Line
Personalization will satisfy existing patients and keep them coming back. It will also increase the chances that they will leave positive reviews and drum up business.
Lack of personalization will cause you to lose business and struggle to gain new patients.
If you satisfy 1 patient, that reaches 4 new patients. If you disappoint 1 patient, that reaches 10 potential patients (Practice Builders).
So, just imagine the impact that making a patient’s doctor’s visit more personal can have.
