Customer Service

Knowing Is Half the Battle

Patient education efforts are on the rise. Are you ready to handle tough questions?

By Elizabeth Holloway, PHR, CPSS

Quality customer service stems not simply from a warm, friendly staff, but also from staff who are competent and knowledgeable. Ophthalmic professionals must make sure they are able to provide patients with quality care. Whether a patient is making an appointment for a routine eye exam or for an ocular emergency, staff must be well-versed in how to handle their needs.

When providing patients with well-informed customer service, staff members should remember the following:

Patient Education

Patient education initiatives are on the rise throughout the field. These include support groups for dry eye and glaucoma patients, surgery counselors to help patients understand procedures and financial responsibilities and billing staff’s efforts to help patients understand the difference between their vision plans and their medical insurance. Patients today are accessing medical information and treatment plans online. With an increase in patient knowledge, staff must also keep increasing their knowledge.

Know What You Don’t Know

Because demand is growing for ophthalmic professionals to develop in-depth knowledge, some may be tempted to deliver patients immediate information without full knowledge. This means information given to a patient could be incorrect or entirely made up. For example, a technician tells a patient cataract surgery medications are included in the price of surgery; when in fact, the patient has to pay for each drop separately at the pharmacy. When patients realize the person giving them this information is incorrect, they are going to have a low opinion of the entire office and this will reflect poorly on their customer service experience. It is far better for ophthalmic professionals to “know what they don’t know” than it is to make up an answer.

When in Doubt. . . Find Out

When in doubt or new on the job, be self-confident enough to tell a patient, “I don’t know.” From a patient perspective, staff members gain esteem when they indicate, “I don’t know, but I can find out for you.” Then, the customer service “wow factor” is revealed when the staff member not only finds out the correct information, but follows back up, in a timely manner, with the patient.

Continuing Education

While staff should “know what they don’t know,” they also have a responsibility to work on continuing education. Professional certification for technicians, opticians, non-clinical staff, and even administrators helps ophthalmic professionals continue to grow in knowledge. Certification enables staff to demonstrate their growth in knowledge.

Finally, find opportunities for on-the-job training as a part of your strategic plan to provide better customer service. OP

Ms. Holloway is a senior consultant with BSM Consulting in Clearwater, FL. Her current certifications include Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Certified Patient Service Specialist (CPSS).