What makes a patient a great patient?<\/p>\n
Everyone promises you \u2018better\u2019 patients and every doctor says they want \u2018better\u2019 patients even though most doctors would say \u201cwe have the best patients,\u201d and \u201cwe love our patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
So it seems to be a most necessary thing to define exactly what \u201cbetter\u201d is.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I created my A, B, C patient screening system. \u00a0The misunderstanding is that EVERY PRACTICE views A, B, C as the same and that A\u2019s are better than C\u2019s; neither are necessarily true.<\/p>\n
First, every practice is different. \u00a0Different clinical objectives, different demographics, different definition of success, different retention models within practices. \u00a0You have General, Advanced and Specialty among the most basic differences though the list goes on and on. \u00a0Then there is insurance, procedures, and hygiene model and so on and so forth.<\/p>\n
A\u2019s for one practice, are NOT A\u2019s for another.<\/p>\n
C\u2019s for one practice are NOT C\u2019s for another.<\/p>\n
Then there is perhaps the most detrimental mistake and one of the biggest issues in all of dentistry, when it comes to patient experiences, across the board is\u2026<\/p>\n
PRE-JUDGMENT of Patients.<\/p>\n
The way we see them is, sadly, often the way we treat them. \u00a0The expectations we have of what they will do affect the diagnosis and alter the care we provide.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very unfortunate that patients are often treated differently without any real reason to do so. \u00a0This is without even asking them enough questions and certainly without preparing them for what is possible and what they ultimately deserve.<\/p>\n
This is why screening for \u201cgood and bad\u201d or \u201cA, B, C\u201d patients are all subjective concepts unless you devise a process, experience and system backed by sufficient and effective education that ELEVATES a patient and gives them a chance to be a better patient for you.<\/p>\n
You have often heard me talk about BUILDING A BETTER PATIENT.<\/p>\n
Emergencies treated (not just clinically) in a proper way can cultivate a patient for life (and an A Patient, at that) and some of the best life changing cases.<\/p>\n
Some wealthy patients can be the worst A Patients and most insurance-driven leading them to see you as a simple commodity.<\/p>\n
My points to all of this are three-fold\u2026<\/p>\n
1st \u2013 You have to get beneath the surface with your patients in every point of engagement and interaction (from online to phone, from referral to marketed, from intake to exam, from diagnosis to presentation, from collections to scheduling).<\/p>\n
Every step is a meaningful (and overlooked) opportunity to build relationships, establish trust and elevate the value the patients feel towards dentistry, themselves, their mouths, health, smile, etc. \u00a0Ultimately, this means increasing the patients\u2019 held value of your practice and you as their doctor.<\/p>\n
I always say: the greatest difference in the patient\u2019s mind is NOT \u2018what you do\u2019 but \u2018who is doing it.\u2019 \u00a0You are the most significant aspect that they can\u2019t get anywhere else.<\/p>\n
2nd \u2013 More often than anything else, patients make the decision because of the process YOU and YOUR TEAM take them through. \u00a0That includes what you say, how you say it, what they experience and how they experience it. \u00a0You create and cultivate the type of patients you have (good, bad or indifferent). \u00a0Your results with your patients and the case acceptance you garner is NOT a \u2018patient problem\u2019 \u2013 it is a You problem.<\/p>\n
And that means there is great opportunity. \u00a0Opportunity in four key areas which I alluded to earlier\u2026<\/p>\n
Process<\/p>\n
Systems<\/p>\n
Education<\/p>\n
Value<\/p>\n
3rd \u2013 and this is big\u2026 Some practices or other informational resources out there might talk about \u201cdental IQ\u201d for referencing patients\u2019 knowledge about dentistry and \u00a0a criteria for the best patients.<\/p>\n
I always say, the BEST patients are the MOST educated. \u00a0However, I do not stop there. \u00a0The best patients are the most educated BY YOU \u2013 not someone else.<\/p>\n
You see, if we get a great \u201cA Patient\u201d who already knows everything about dentistry (a high dental IQ), what does that mean?<\/p>\n
It means either\u2026<\/p>\n
A) They are already at optimal health; or\u2026<\/p>\n
B) They were told about concerns and did nothing<\/p>\n
Therefore, why would you want them? \u00a0Furthermore, no doctor should want a patient who has been \u201ceducated\u201d and pre-conditioned by another Doctor because your philosophies may not match.<\/p>\n
Which begets the greatest challenge in all of dentistry: overcoming a patient\u2019s PAST dental experiences and the preconceived ideas and either positive or negative thoughts about those. \u00a0That is the biggest hurdle you have to overcome.<\/p>\n
That is why the best patients are always ones that you take from the bottom up. \u00a0From where they are, you can build for yourself an A PATIENT; for their benefit and yours.<\/p>\n
The greatest things you can do for all of your patients are\u2026<\/p>\n