Dermatology World July 2011 SUPPLEMENT : Page 12
Patient-centric office ensures excellent service The department of dermatology at University of Michigan Medical School has been number one in the health system in patient satisfaction for a decade. But the benefits of being focused on providing great service go beyond patient satisfaction, according to Dr. Ellis. “We found out that this great service concept is not just for patients; it’s also for the physicians and staff. We found that our department is a much nicer place to work. We’ve retained our terrific employees for longer periods of time, and it has been easier to accomplish things,” Dr. Ellis said. “It also has reduced significantly the number of complaints that we’ve had to deal with. By reducing complaints, you can use that time for other more purposeful things.” Dr. Ellis said his department measured the times from when patients checked in to when they entered exam rooms. “When we first measured it, it took an average 26 minutes. Now we’re down to an average of five minutes. We did this without changing the numbers of patients or workers. It took a long time, continually working on our scheduling template until we were able to reduce the time that patients had to wait,” Dr. Ellis said. “We don’t even call it a waiting room anymore; we call it a reception area.” environment and amenitieS “We all experience the world through our senses: our sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste,” Dr. Marks said. “So, if you think about your practice, how is the patient experiencing your practice through those senses? What does the environment feel like? Smell like? Sound like? Taste like? Appear like?” Physicians might enhance the experience for patients by having background music. A professional environment, where staff wears neatly tailored polo shirts, is an example of a small change that could enhance the office environment for patients. These are little extras that patients aren’t expecting when they experience your practice. Do you offer up-to-date magazines in your waiting room? Fresh-cut flowers? Artwork? Refreshments? Samples? There are certain things that are and aren’t desirable in a reception area, according to Dr. Ellis. “For one thing, you don’t want a clock in the reception area,” he said. “Many offices have a water dispenser in the reception area. Of course, if you have a water dispenser, you want to make sure it’s full. I’d rather have no water dispenser than one that is empty.” Service fundamentalS Dr. Marks breaks down service, or how a patient perceives his or her experience with a practice, into four categories: systems and processing, environment, amenities, and communication skills. We have found that this great service concept is not just for patients; it’s also for the physicians and staff. “We tend to think about the fifth, which is our diagnostic, clinical, technical skills,” Dr. Marks said. “Unfortunately, those are the things that patients have a lot of difficulty judging, because they don’t have the same expertise we do. So, they judge us by our systems and processes, environment, amenities, and communication skills that we exhibit.” SyStemS and ProceSSing This service area includes the processes by which patients experience their visits. How easy is it to make an appointment? How easy is the check-in process? How easy is the check-out process? How accurate and timely is the billing? What is the flow like in the office? “Very often, patients will complain about a system that is not working. For example, they might say that it takes too long to check out,” Dr. Marks said. People don’t like to wait, Dr. Ellis said. “Part of providing good service is to analyze your wait times, and see if you can reduce the time that your patients are waiting,” he said. communication SkillS Physicians, nurses, receptionists, secretaries — everyone who interacts with patients — should be skilled in and in tune to how they communicate, verbally and nonverbally, according to Dr. Marks. “Each of us can improve our ability to communicate in a way that’s pleasing to patients,” he said. There’s an easy way for physicians to improve communication, he said. 12 supplement to dermatology World // July 2011 www.aad.org
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