Avoid This Critical Mistake With Patient Conversations Part 1

Ah yes, sometimes we all just get ahead of ourselves and there is no place more prevalent in doing this than with Patients.

I’d summarize this challenge by saying two things.

One we often say too much…too fast.

And if you think about it, the reason boils down to being busy.  The fact that there are other things to be done forces you to move on to what’s and who’s next.

I would say without question this is the hardest part to master and it is a never-ending battle for every Doctor and Team Member.

It goes deeper than just saying “two ears, one mouth – listen more and talk less,” because that isn’t even always true.  Some patients need to be explained to and comforted more than others.  The only way to know that with each individual patient is to be focused on them, present with them, aware of them, and listening to them.

Today, I’m not just talking about “slowing down,” as that would be too easy.  Yes, should you, of course, but that doesn’t mean necessarily the slowing down of time.  Mostly you just need better use of the time, less wasted time, and to be more purposeful.

What you can’t ever come across as is that you are just trying to get it done.

Get off the phone.

Finish the task.

Complete the exam.

Hurry up the cleaning.

Hastily take the bite-wings or pictures.

Run through the experience like a checklist.

Present the treatment as if you are talking to a wall instead of creating dialogue with a person.

My saying to you is always: make sure dentistry is happening WITH your patients and not to your patients.

Today’s Huddle is not about time management, although that is a big part of it; it’s about time effectiveness.  Yet that is still not all of it.  The real point of this is to understand what is your main objective, what is the purpose of your interaction in this moment, and what is your role in your practice with this particular patient?

You must know that ultimate objective with every interaction you are having.  It’s never to ‘just get it done.’  With patients specifically (and tying into our most recent discussions about “selling”), you must know what you are to be “selling” based on what you do.

Here’s a simple list that we’ll break down a little more in the coming weeks.

First, I would ask you to answer the question: what are you selling?  This is not the practice as a whole, we’ve already covered that (hope, health, possibility, deserve).

Specific to your role and patient process, how do you fit in and what should you be focusing on to move the patient forward?

On the phone, you sell the advantages of the practice, coming in for the appointment, and, most of all, that you genuinely care and believe you can help the patient.  You are selling them on the first visit.

In the pre-education materials and welcome process, you are selling the differentiation factors of the practice and you are building up the value in the patients’ minds of what you do.

Greeting patients, your goal is to sell comfort and friendliness.

In the New Patient Interview, you are selling goals, expectations, the experience itself, the importance of comprehensive care, why it matters, and how we go about determining theirs.

For clinical engagement, you have a triad of things.  You must be selling the doctor and building them up.  You are selling the patient on themselves and reinforcing their goals.  You are also bringing to life their problems and possibilities of what they deserve to have happen first by establishing the proof of what their current reality is.

Our Doctors have the main objective of selling benefits and outcomes.  In addition, they are selling their own confidence to the patient that they have the appropriate and definitive solutions for them.

On the backend we have our Business Team and Treatment Coordinators to further reinforce the benefits on the pathway to health.  They do have the big responsibility of selling the value of treatment is worth more than the value of their money.

And every person who comes in contact with the patient should always be selling the things we have talked about over the past several weeks.  Especially remember that you must be selling urgency and timeliness on getting healthy and that no one deserves to wait to do something beneficial for themselves.

Yes, every step of the way there is something to be focused on in order to move the patient forward.  And it is vitally important to not get ahead of yourself and confuse the patient by discussing things before they are ready to hear them.

As we love to say and I reinforced to you last week… there is a system, a process, and an experience for a reason.

Now, make sure you aren’t talking too much or too little, moving too fast or too slow, and that you have clarity on what your purpose is at that moment.  Focus on that and not just ‘getting it done’ or going through the motions.

Self assess now and I’ll be back with some insights and helpful tips next week.