Dos and don'ts for customer service: Keeping patients happy

A productive practice depends on its customer service. Your goal is to provide superior customer service, with 100% of patients enjoying a great experience every single time they interact with your practice.

Have the right systems in place. To "WOW" patients requires following these five steps:

1. Review your customer service policies.
2. Establish a standard set of operating procedures for customer service that every patient will experience.
3. Survey patients regularly to determine their satisfaction levels.
4. When you meet with specialists, ask them about how they view customer service in your practice.
5. Develop a system to handle patient concerns or complaints quickly and in a manner that achieves total patient satisfaction.

Don't ignore unhappy patients. Unhappy patients have more questions, complaints, and concerns about everything from billing and insurance to quality of care. All of these matters need to be addressed. Typically, unhappy patients are likely to tell others -- possibly many others -- about their negative experiences in your practice. Get enough unhappy customers and you'll begin to lose future patient referrals, resulting in a loss of production to your practice.