Staff actions affect patient retention


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Issue 9 - July 2003

Team tips by Susan Hoy
Staff actions affect patient retention

Wouldn’t it be great if patient retention relied only on one action? Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Retention depends on the relation-ships you build, how well you educate your patients, your attention to detail, your ability to follow through with your promises and your staff’s attitude and behavior toward your patients.

First impressions are paramount and your staff has the responsibility to make sure the first moment of contact is a positive one. Regardless of your skill as a chiropractor, if a staff member does not speak and act professionally, you are losing patients even before you get the opportunity to meet them personally.

Nothing will turn a patient away faster than being “abused” by office staff. Negativity, moodiness, rudeness or any other kind of unprofessional behavior turns patients away. Nip all of these in the bud.

Likewise, a staff member who is ignorant about chiropractic cannot project confidence in it. Each of your staff members must understand and believe in the power of chiropractic. Set aside time every week to educate your staff on specific chiropractic topics.

Assuming your staff’s attitude and confidence levels are “up to par,” let’s examine some of the other ways your staff impacts patient retention:

• Patient tracking. Once a patient commits, your staff must work diligently to help her keep to the commitment by making reminder and follow-up calls. Train your staff in using non-threatening procedures. Remember, patient tracking is a service to the patient and should not be viewed as an unpleasant task.

• Scheduling. Keeping a firm schedule serves your patient, your staff and you! A well-run schedule eliminates stress and helps you and your staff to stay focused. It also frees up time for you (and them) to focus on reports, paperwork and the other aspects of your practice.

• Confrontations. Your staff may find some situations — such as keeping appointments or paying for services — difficult to talk about with patients. Train your staff that confrontation does not have to be unpleasant or hard to do.

To help them, develop scripts for your staff to use in the many difficult scenarios facing them. For example:“As a convenience to you, we offer advanced scheduling. That way you will get the appointments that are most convenient for you and your appointments will be easier to remember.”

• Listening. Patients often make off-handed comments signaling situations that need to be addressed. Train your CAs to listen for these signals, such as:

—“I’m feeling better and I’m not sure why I should still come for treatment.” This statement signals the patient is on the verge on stopping treatment.

—“Did I tell you I’m starting a new job next week?” This comment flags a need to update insurance records.

—“I’ve been coming for several weeks now. When am I going to feel better?” The patient may be getting discouraged.

When your CA hears a patient make a red-flag comment, you need to know about it so that you can address the situation.

The bottom line is that retention and patient compliance are the responsibilities of the entire staff.

And remember: No matter how good your staff’s skills are, they can be better. Education is an ongoing thing.

Train your staff in telephone techniques

The telephone has become such an essential tool in our homes and offices that we sometimes forget to train staff to use effective telephone techniques. Make sure each staff member knows how to use the features on your phone system, such as how to place callers on hold, transfer calls and do three-way calling.

But also review with them basic telephone skills (see below). You might want to call from an outside line periodically, just to check on greetings, or have friends or family give you a report on your office staff’s telephone manners (yours, too!).

Here are some basic skills:

• Fast pick up. Insist that calls are answered by the third ring.

• A smile in the greeting. Smiling comes across on the phone.

• Slow zone. Have you ever called an office, been told, ‘This is xxxx. Can you hold?’ and before you answer, you are put on hold? Train your staff to slow down and listen. Sometimes a caller cannot hold.

• Forgotten caller. Sometimes it’s necessary to put callers on hold. But make sure they aren't forgotten.

• Articulate disclosure. When a patient calls your office, she shouldn’t have to guess she’s called the right place. Your receptionist should speak slowly and distinctly. And she (or he) should identify herself, too.

• Name game. Train your assistants to use the caller’s name. Calling someone by name makes them feel valued.

Susan Hoy is an award-winning team trainer and consultant. She can be reached at 215-674-0130; suzzhoy@aol.com; or through her Web site at www.beefitupnet.

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