When you check into a hotel there are so many expectations: you expect the ease of pulling into a carport and jumping out of your car to check in a few steps away. The check-in process is the next hurdle to jump over. The indulgence of walking into the lobby and seeing “check -in” overhead, while a smiling person waves you in, receives you, and checks on your room’s readiness, instructing you on parking or how much you’ll pay for valet nightly and letting you know the restaurant and bar’s hours. Receiving your room key and number, then a map to get you there and knowing that a nice person is on-staff should you call the reception from your room with any questions. Relief and excitement wash over you about what’s to come on this get-away. Those are the only things you need to feel.
Why are we detailing the pleasantry of this experience? It’s because this is the experience your patients are expecting when they arrive at your offices. They don’t want to be greeted by a receptionist, who’s also your office manager, stressed and aggravated because your billing system is down or needs updating and she can’t get a hold of a patient’s insurance provider’s finance department to resolve what she knew was a “clean claim” when it was submitted. Statistically, people seeking treatment are twice as likely to accept or reject a doctor or medical practice based on the attitudes and friendliness of their staff. We know, they haven’t even met you yet. They’re quick when things don’t go their way though. Working with a billing partner, like Gables Medical Billing, would save you from having a staff that is plagued, distressed and embattled with billing and coding issues and denied claims. When your staff is attentive to your patients, they’re able to build and establish the trust and care being expected and create a connection that leads to repeat patients. There’s also the expectation that their time is valued and that wait times will not be the star of this show. Another area where they have strong feelings is that their care is a collaboration between you and them. As their medical professional you are aware that they spend their entire lives in their body and understand when something is working or not and how their lifestyle goes. They feel that talking through treatment options and all implications and other information with them, as a partnership, is the experience they crave and need.
The patient experience matters now more than ever, they have so many options and you don’t want to take yourself out of the running. Especially because of something so simple as what would feel is a “minor inconvenience”. Inconveniences are never minor when our business is potentially at stake and our patients feel undervalued. Mitigating these things before they become issues is what we’re here to help you do.