Tips for making a good first impression
Don’t chance patients voting with their feet
Are the magazines in your reception area older than some of your patients? Does anyone on your staff sport a nose ring, long jewel-encrusted fingernails, huge dangling earrings, or spandex in any form?
If so, it may be time to revamp your image, says Diane Peterson, president of D. Peterson & Associates, a Houston-based health care consulting company. She repeats humorist Erma Bombeck’s advice to avoid a doctor whose plants have died. "Visual appearances make a powerful impression. Impressions are made instantly and instinctively within a few seconds, and they are hard to alter," she says.
If patients are kept on hold too long, feel uncomfortable in your office, or believe they have gotten the brush-off from you or your staff, they’re likely to vote with their feet, she adds. In today’s highly competitive health care market, it’s not just enough to get on a managed care panel. Patients in the plan still have a choice of doctors, and most of them rely on the recommendations of friends and families.
"Medicine is no longer the simple exchange in the past of a chicken for medical care. Now, there are all kinds of intermediaries to consider, as well as sheer competition," she says. "The summary is that patients refer patients; other doctors refer patients; hospital employees refer patients. If you want to build volume or maintain your volume, you need to make a good impression on all your customers."
"Patient" is too narrow a term to describe the people you need to please. Peterson points out. "Physicians should think of the customer as anyone who has dealings with the practice. This includes family members, referral sources, payers, the hospital, and hospital employees." Count hospital nurses among your customers, she suggests. "Nurses direct more patients to doctors because of their perception of how they are treated."
Don’t forget to take the baby boomers into account, Peterson adds. "Depression-era people were much less challenging and much more satisfied. Boomers are health conscious and questioning. They want it their way, right now."
Here are some areas where your office’s images may need polishing:
- Professional appearances.
Clothing should be appropriate to the environment, neat, clean, and pressed, and must fit proper and be comfortable. The way staff dress communicates how well you handle details in your practice, Peterson says. Nose rings, tattoos, cornrow hair, and spandex may be hot trends, but none of them belong in an office, she says.
"This is particularly true when your practice deals with older patients. They may think that nose ring is darling on their grandson, but they don’t want it on their health care professional," she adds. Have a group in your office develop a policy about what is professional dress. "You shouldn’t have the doctor dictate what length skirt is too short. Even if it’s a solo practice with three people in the office, let those three write the dress code," Peterson says.
Dress and grooming should be an issue for everyone on your staff, whether they’re the physician or the janitor, Peterson says. "Visual appearances are such powerful images. It doesn’t matter what job you’re in, you should look professional," she says.
- Office’s appearance.
Of course, everything in a physician’s office should be neat and clean, but other facets of the appearance of your office are equally important, Peterson says. She advises physicians to walk a fine line between plush and comfortable. "If the office is too well done, people will worry about the fees being too high."
Patients want a telephone they can use, tissues, and plants in an office. A television and a bowl of candy are little extras that go a long way toward keeping patients happy and comfortable while they wait, she adds. And the magazines should appeal to a variety of interests and be up-to-date, not several years old.
- Written communications.
Make sure the written materials you provide to patients, referral sources, and managed care companies depicts you as a professional who pays attention to details. Fuzzy, overcopied materials give a poor impression. Make sure your patient handouts are clearly printed, easy to read, and attractively presented.
The same is true of reports to referral sources or managed care companies. They should be clearly written, attractive, and sent in a timely manner.
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