Dos and don'ts for patient communication: Learn from dissatisfied patients

Sometimes, even under the best circumstances, patient dissatisfaction occurs. Remember that a problem is an opportunity to improve performance. When an issue is resolved quickly and properly, the relationship between the practice and patient can be maintained and strengthened. Patients need to understand that a practice cares about their concerns and that finding an appropriate solution is the priority.

View this as an opportunity. It's easier to improve your practice by learning what is going wrong rather than what is going right. After all, when you're doing everything right, no one says anything. Dissatisfied patients can be a valuable resource to determine where the practice can make improvements.

Don't take criticism personally. Don't interpret a comment about the practice to be a comment about you personally. It's not. Don't lose a valuable opportunity to improve the practice by being too thin-skinned. Sometimes doctors and teams need the unvarnished truth to set them straight.