Customer Service

Alleviate patient wait time concerns

Put a positive spin on a potentially negative experience.

BY ELIZABETH HOLLOWAY, PHR

While practices today are focused on efficient patient care, even the best clinics experience a “bad day” and run late. When you run behind schedule, patients become upset, and you may be tempted to run, hide, or at least avoid eye contact.

These challenging clinic moments require you to leave your comfort zone and address patient concerns. When left alone, uninformed patients can become agitated, confront staff, and demand to know why they have not been seen. To avoid this situation in your practice, be pro-active and provide information before patients become upset.

If you see the clinic running behind schedule, use these tips to provide better customer service.

Keep patients informed

If you see patients sitting in the lobby longer than usual, try to determine the reason. Also, tell a supervisor that the patient has been waiting a long time. Then, apologize to the patient for the delay, and inform him or her that you noticed the wait and will see what you can do to help.

Watch the dilation room

Just as patients can be left waiting in the front lobby, patients get restless waiting in the dilation room. If a physician experiences an emergency or challenging case, inform the patients in the dilation room that the doctor is delayed. Offer these patients refreshments, and let them know how long they can expect to wait.

Be pro-active, and reach out to patients if you notice them waiting for too long.

Review special testing

Some patients may not understand how a visual field or OCT impacts the length of their appointment. When patients are in the office, you can help them understand their next step in the exam by credentialing your team members and telling them an approximate wait time.

Script example: “Mrs. Smith, the next person you will see is our imaging specialist named Sally. She is the best at taking pictures, and the test should only take a few minutes. There is one patient ahead of you, but she will get you when you are next.”

Openly accept questions

If a patient approaches you and demands to know where they are in the schedule, be open. Kindly ask the patient’s name and check the schedule.

Script example: “Mrs. Smith, thank you for your patience. I see you had a test, and you are the next person to see the doctor. I will be sure to flag your chart as ‘next,’ and I appreciate your patience.”

Offer options

If a patient cannot wait to see the doctor, kindly book the appointment for another, less stressful day.

Script example: “I understand that you have another appointment and need to go soon. I am truly sorry your appointment has taken so long today. If you need to go, we will be happy to help schedule you for a return appointment on another day. Would that option be more convenient to you?”

Keep complaints to a minimum

While it may be tempting to vent about a challenging day, patients do not want to hear about your office woes (i.e. someone called out sick). Stay positive in front of patients.

Script example: “We are so sorry that we are running behind today, but I am going to work hard to give you my complete attention and get you ready to see the doctor.”

Address chronic issues

If your clinic chronically runs behind and you constantly have to apologize to patients, talk with your administration and physicians.

Patients have many options today, and you don’t want it to cause your patients to leave your practice. Provide suggestions to your supervisors to help resolve problems and prevent patients from waiting too long.

Show you care

Patients want to know that you care. Whether the clinic is having a great day or a challenging day, make every effort to keep the patient informed and provide good customer service.

Do not wait for the patient to ask — experienced ophthalmic professionals seek ways to let patients know what to expect. 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).