In HealthCare, it’s the little things that keep your patients coming back time after time.
Think of it like coming back home after college. Your mom makes your favorite foods, does your laundry, helps you with your finances, and gives you the best advice. Moms truly have a talent for knowing exactly how to get their kids to keep wanting to come home, and you can too when it comes to making your patients feel special and welcome! And while you can’t make your patients their favorite pasta dish, you can do a few other simple and thoughtful things to make them feel like a member of your pharma-family. Want to create relationships and an atmosphere where patients feel like they are not just a number?
Try these 5 tips!
1. Automatically Welcome New Patients to Your Practice
Loyal patients are the lifeblood of a modern health practice. When a new patient schedules an appointment, you have one shot at making a great first impression (pun intended)…so make it a good one! Sending a welcome letter or email before the appointment can make patients feel like they are a member of a community rather than just a customer. Plus, it’s a great vehicle to inform patients about your practice, making that first appointment far less frightening and more familiar.
How it Works: make every new patient welcomed with an automatic email that may include a video tour of your office, a warm letter from the pharmacist, and all the forms & attachments they’ll need to make the first visit quick and productive.
2. Keep Your Front Desk Open 24-7
Members of a strong, tight-knit family are there for one another 100% of the time, offering a 24-7 support system. Giving your patients access to your practice around the clock allows them to have their needs addressed on their own time and on their own schedule. Whether it’s filling out a patient drug form, viewing transaction histories, or requesting an appointment, patients will greatly appreciate the convenient and superior service.
3. Send Timely, Personalized Birthday & Holiday Cards
A greeting card can be an effective way to show someone you appreciate and care about them. Sure, you could send a stock template email wishing patients a happy birthday, but wouldn’t you agree that a card by snail mail is that much more appealing and personal? If you’re like us, you remember cards delivered via post far more than emails popping up in your crowded inbox. Stand out by sending a card and your patients will appreciate the effort!
How it Works: send both email and printed cards according to your settings – so you can show patients how much you care even if you don’t have their email addresses on file.
4. Deploy Automatic Post-Refill Instructions
If you want your patient relationships to feel anything like a family, your care should extend beyond the face-to-face time you spend at the office. Let’s say your patient had a refile for antihypertensives – it’s likely they might feel a bit anxious and groggy after the refill for the first time, causing them to retain very little of your post-op instructions. To make sure your patients completely understand instructions, you can eliminate any confusion by writing down specific details for their care at home.
5. Make Every Interaction Stand Out
In today’s hyper-connected and technology-based world, convenience has come to mean being accessible and interacting with your patients in the ways that they prefer. Make sure you are reaching out to them, not only to remind them of their upcoming appointment, but also other times throughout the year. Building strong relationships with your patients requires a consistent investment of time and attention. This consistency can result in more appointment requests, fewer no-shows, and a happy, loyal patient base.
Just like the way families care for one another, dentists care about the well-being of their patients. That’s why treating your patients like family comes naturally. Anytime you interact with patients, you want to make them feel important. Create that feeling for them with these 5 tips and watch your practice blossom.
