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Understanding Patient Expectations
What goes through your patients’ heads? Wouldn’t you like to know? If you were able to understand what they expect, what matters to them, how they make decisions, and other aspects of how they think, wouldn’t you be in a better position to help them? Of course.
- Patients enter your practice, each with a unique set of expectations. These expectations are not tattooed on their arms; they’re internal. They’re formed over a lifetime of experience with various dentists and secondhand experiences of others. How do you learn what they are? The obvious but not so easy answer is: You ask.
- Those expectations will determine whether a patient remains in your practice or recycles to another dentist. Wouldn’t you want to meet a patient’s expectations if you could? Wouldn’t you rather tell him you can’t meet his expectations than have him find out through disappointment? Why risk the latter outcome if you can avoid it? People leave a practice when they don’t get what they want. They rarely leave when they are happy and feeling well served. You want most patients to both stay in your practice and take advantage of your services; so understanding their expectations becomes an important patient-retention tool.
- People will tell you their expectations if they believe you will be responsive. If you present yourself as being seriously interested in knowing and understanding your patients, they are more likely to give you information and feedback which will help you do so. “We want to understand how you hope we can help you and what matters to you, Mrs. Jones -- particularly because you have just left a practice which failed to do so. We don’t want that to happen again.”
- Guessing, supposing or making it up are ineffective strategies. When faced with important questions about patient behavior, many people simply fail to ask. They too often presume, assume or simply make it up. These strategies rarely work as well as asking patients reasonable questions like the ones contained on the questionnaire below. The mere fact that you take the time to ask and listen intently to their answers positions you miles ahead of most other dental practices.
How might one use such a questionnaire? There are several options. New patients might be sent the form along with a letter which welcomes them to the practice and confirms the plans for the initial appointment. That letter would invite the patient to complete the questions on the form.
Alternately, a new patient might be given the questionnaire upon entering the practice for an initial appointment. Although we don’t recommend handing people a medical history form (we encourage facilitators to review those questions orally), this expectations questionnaire might require a few moments of private, thoughtful contemplation.
Existing patients might receive the questionnaire at their annual examination. You might preface it like this: “Joan, because you have been coming to our practice for six years, we think we know a lot about you and understand you pretty well. But, we want to make certain and not make any assumptions.”
If you and your team can take every opportunity to unzip your patients’ heads and peer inside, you would know how to meet (and, yes, exceed) their expectations. Since brain surgery is messy, tools like the one included in this article should be in your kit. This communications tool, like many others we offer, will always result in greater openness to patients letting you help them. The key is a sincere sense of commitment to understanding your patients, what they want, and how they can best be served.
Questionnaire
The better we understand you, the better we can serve you. We don’t like to make assumptions or guess about what makes you tick. (Please make a mark along each scale below to indicate your opinion or preference.)
____I know a great deal about my dental condition
____I know very little about my dental condition
____I like to be presented with fewer options
____I like to be presented with more options
____I tend to look at the details
____I tend to look at the big picture
____I prefer long-lasting solutions which may cost more
____I prefer more temporary solutions at lower cost
____I prefer to talk in technical terms with my dentist
____I prefer to talk in non-technical terms
____My insurance largely determines the extent of my care
____I largely determine the extent of my care
____I prefer to wait until I must act
____I usually see no reason to delay care
____I rely more on self-maintenance
____I rely more on professional maintenance
____I like newer and more modern techniques
____I prefer tried and true methods
____I favor a treatment-oriented approach to disease
____I favor a cause-oriented approach to disease
In order of importance, I generally consider the following benefits (please rank 1 through 8):
____Comfort
____Appearance
____Peace of Mind
____Function
____Precision
____Durability
____Health
____Other ______________
In order of importance, I generally weigh the following costs (please rank 1 through 6):
____Money
____Time
____Personal Effort
____Physical Discomfort
____Fear / Anxiety
____Other ______________
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