A patient's first impression of your practice starts even before they walk in the door. You can create a positive patient experience with the first phone call. While answering the phone is a basic, everyday action, it has a direct correlation with your practice's bottom line.
How can you ensure that every phone opportunity is converted to an appointment? It starts with differentiating yourself from the competition by capitalizing and enhancing the patient experience on the phone.
With these five simple tips, your front desk staff can Own the Phone and create the best caller experience:
Patients are looking for a practice that is confident, warm, and inviting. It sounds simple, but smiling while speaking over the phone can make all the difference. A simple smile can show sincere care for the patient. Always treat the phone like a face-to-face interaction.
Patients want to feel heard and understood. The patient is calling because they want to talk to a real person, not a machine. Let them speak for as long as they need, then respond back by summarizing their concerns and needs and offering solutions, if applicable.
You are the expert and are responsible for properly setting expectations for the patient. It is important to take the extra time on the phone to address areas of concern (parking, important documents to bring, length of the appointment, etc.) You will set yourself apart by not only calming nerves, but also maintaining a high level of professionalism that shows you care.
You can foster long-term relationships with your patients by creating a personalized experience. Use the patient's name or have their file pulled up while you talk to them. Nothing adds a personal touch like a medical practice that remembers its patients!
You can capture more appointment opportunities if you are timely in inviting them into your practice. By following up on a missed phone call, or letting a patient know when an earlier appointment opens, you are eliminating the time for them to turn to the competition.
Prioritize every patient phone call to ensure the phone is one of the biggest assets at your practice, instead of a liability to manage. Every patient phone call impacts your bottom line, so every interaction should be treated and handled as a valuable opportunity.
To learn more about how the phone can improve overall patient satisfaction, demo Call Box HERE.