Based upon surveys, patients want the following from their doctors and health providers (References below):

1. Quality of care: Patients prioritize high-quality care from their doctors and health providers. This includes accurate diagnoses, effective treatments, and positive outcomes.
2. Communication: Patients value clear and effective communication with their doctors and health providers. They want their concerns to be heard, and they want to be well-informed about their treatment options.
3. Empathy and compassion: Patients appreciate doctors and health providers who show empathy and compassion towards their needs and emotions. They want to feel understood and supported throughout their healthcare journey.
4. Timeliness: Patients desire timely access to healthcare services, including appointments, test results, and treatment plans. They value minimal wait times and efficient care delivery.
5. Patient-centered approach: Patients want their doctors and health providers to involve them in decision-making processes and consider their preferences and values. They appreciate personalized care that respects their individual needs.

What would happen to your chiropractic or healthcare practice if you and your team committed to a 12-month Patient Service Program to improve how your office meets these five Wants? You could give each category 20 points and have everyone give each one a grade from 1 to 20. The consensus might end up with a grade of 80 points, or 70, or 92 when all 5 are added together.

Then, over the next 12 months, everyone could work together each month on each category by refining the procedures and improving service skills. You could schedule in-office team training and individual training through seminars, webinars, and even books.

Guess what would happen to the patient referrals, patient retention, and goodwill as things improved? What would happen to staff morale as their competence increased each month and they saw that patients became happier by working on improving service?

SYMPTOMATIC VERSUS STRENGTH BUILDING MANAGEMENT IN CHIROPRACTIC AND HEALTHCARE

Symptomatic management focuses, as it sometimes must, on the urgent necessitates that immediately increase income. But chasing symptoms, putting out one fire after another, is a trap we can all fall into. You stay busy. There are challenges that you overcome. So, it may seem that you are moving forward. But the months and then years go by, and you look around and are still doing what you were doing years ago. Nothing has changed.

Excellent management addresses urgent concerns but also carves out time to strengthen the skills and procedures of the service team. It builds for the future. And it does so by training, coaching, analyzing and steadily improving each of the 5 service categories, the 5 Wants. Over the long run, this gives patients what they want, and everyone wins.

Help your patients get what they want.

Carpe Futurum (Seize the Future!)

References: Patients’ preferences. PubMed , HCAHPS: Patients’ Perspectives of Care Survey

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