The Front Desk: Your Patients' First Impression
By: Tammy McCausland
In her workshop at SROA’s 2022 Annual Meeting, Michele Krohn advocated for a back-to-basics approach ensuring front desk teams provide optimal customer service.
Somebody will make a judgment about your practice in the first seven seconds. Common sense is key, but it seems to be a lost art. The patient is the customer, but people like family, caregivers, representatives and the general public also take account.
According to the Journal of Medical Practice Management, 96 percent of patient complains are related to customer service, while only 4 percent are about the quality of clinical care or misdiagnoses. Businesses that deliver better customer experiences obtain revenue between 4 percent and 8 percent above market.
Your team is a direct correlation to your physician, she said. Front desk staff are often overlooked and undertrained. Invest in training front desk staff and pay them higher than average to ensure a better experience.
Krohn touched on several key points to ensure your front desk staff provide the best service:
Phone tree: Krohn recommends avoiding a phone tree, if possible. When cancer patients book their first appointment, they want to talk to a friendly person. If you have a phone tree, ensure you have a policy for how quickly a voicemail should be responded to. Keep the message short. Have a professional read the script (or a physician). Listen to the message from a patient perspective. Your on-hold message is a great opportunity to market.
Test things from a patient perspective (phone call, chatbots, online form). Have an appropriate greeting and closing to the call. People answering the phones should have a smile in their voice. The patient should hang up first.
Patient check-in: Is your check-in patient friendly? Smiling is the easiest and most attainable thing to do for patients, Krohn said. Tone of voice is 84 percent of the conversation to the patient.
Communication: Explain clearly to patients why certain items are required (payment, paperwork, etc.). Review your check-in process. Inform patients how long they may be waiting.
Overall Office Aesthetic: Observe what the waiting room looks like: is it warm and inviting? Observe the exams rooms: are they dirty? Look at the new patient paperwork.
Your Practice’s Message: What do you want patients to say about your practice to their friends/family? Your team should be able to recite the values of your practice. Make sure patients can see your values (signage). Rewards go a long way to team members (simple gift cards).
Customer Service: Acknowledge your patients. Describe what they will experience. Respect their time. Finish strong.
Train your team. Establish clear expectations for team members. Practice scripting and roll playing. Have a recognition for team members that get mentioned in online reviews. Have weekly or monthly team member meetings. Treat them to lunch.
All patients want to be treated with respect, to have their problems resolved, immediate action and proof that you are listening.
About:
Michele Krohn is president of Full Circle PR, which offers marketing, publications, reputation management and community networking services. Full Circle PR manages 300 medical practices and centers across 17 states.
Do you invest in your front desk staff? What, if anything, do you think you could do differently?
Share any helpful tips and suggestions.
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