Your patients expect you to provide them with the highest level of care. They need to trust you to have their best interests at heart, at every phase of their relationship with you, your practice, and everyone in your office.
But, if you’re like most medical or dental practices, you’re discovering, the hard way, that it’s tougher than ever to earn and keep that trust. Superior patient satisfaction ratings are simply not as easy to rack up as they used to be.
One reason for declines in satisfaction ratings has nothing to do with how well you, personally, attend to your patient’s needs during their visit. Instead, patient satisfaction is often highly influenced by how your patients are treated by everyone – and everything – else associated with their care. Check out this list of what patients really expect from their doctor and dentist. How well are you meeting them today?
Immediate Response
We live in an age of instant gratification and have been trained by today’s technology to expect instant answers to our every request. These are the expectations at play every time one of your patients reaches out. When they need an appointment, they believe you should be able to respond instantly, politely, and with 100% accuracy. Is that something your office staff can provide, no matter what else is going on at the front desk?
When you outsource your appointment scheduling to a trusted, experience inbound call center, you can guarantee that level of service, on every call.
Efficiency
Not every patient who calls in is able to say yes to the first appointment time you offer. Often, there is a little dance between two calendars as your patient and your scheduler work to get everything in sync and on the books. This is often challenging for the patient. But an agent who is an expert at juggling dates, listening carefully to the timing constraints (no matter how complex), and zeroing in on something that works is worth their weight in gold. When you outsource, your customer calls are never interrupted by something else. And your agents are trained to narrow down what the patient really needs, offer only the best options, and never derailed or frustrated during the process.
Expertise
No patient ever wants to feel like their call is being handled by someone who “just handles the calendar” and is disconnected from your office. A superior call center hires and trains agents who can speak the language of your practice, using appropriate medical or dental technology and always making it clear that they are part of your patient care team.
Clear Communications
Patient retention is largely about clear, accessible patient communication. When you outsource to a trusted call center, you give your patients access to a wider window of time to call, based on your specifications. You also ensure that, on every call, they’re speaking with someone who is a proven, excellent communicator who speaks clearly, listens attentively, and captures all relevant notes on the record.
Compassion and Courtesy
How do your patients feel about the conversations they’re having on the phone with your office? They expect to feel cared about as an individual. When your staff is taking care of every other everyday occurrence and patient need, they might not always be able to drop everything and set up the appointment, all with a kind and patient attitude and tone of voice. An outsourced appointment scheduling team will do that, every time.
For your patients, the quality of your care begins long before you see them in your office – and it extends well beyond the moment they walk back out. If you’re ready to take your patient care to the next level, reach out to us at Skybridge Americas. We would love to learn more about your practice and how we can help you improve patient experience.
Bobby Matthews
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Skybridge Americas
bmatthews@skybridgeamericas.com
Find out how Skybridge Americas can help you delight your customers and grow your business.
We seamlessly integrate our superior customer care skills with your brand messaging. For more information, contact us at 763-299-4570 or submit our contact form.
