Podcast: 1 dentist's thoughts on creating the new patient experience

For Dr. Ankur Gupta, an experience with a front office staff member at a medical facility changed how he does business inside his dental practice.

After a cancer scare transformed Dr. Gupta's daughter into a new medical patient, Dr. Gupta and his family were hit in the face with a cold reception and uncaring attitude from the person sitting at the medical facility's front desk as they nervously checked in for an appointment.

"We went from being relatively nonchalant about this appointment to being incredibly scared and incredibly vulnerable," Dr. Gupta recalled. "We walked up to the person who was sitting behind the counter, and she did to us what probably you've had plenty of people do who sit behind the counter. This person was on her computer and tapping away. She acted like we interrupted her. The very first word out of her mouth was "Name," and then we said our names. Then she said, "Insurance," so I handed her the card and she gave us a clipboard with a form to fill out. That's pretty normal, but I was so upset about how we were treated.

"You know what, the doctors were great, the nurses were great, but I came out of that situation very upset," Dr. Gupta continued. "I was really dissatisfied with that interaction. I went back to my dental office, and while we're not like dealing with life-and-death issues the majority of the time, we're still dealing with patients who are incredibly nervous to come in because they're so worried about how we're going to judge them for having taken care of their teeth, or they're so worried about getting an injection in their mouth. These are real people with real worries, and from that moment I had that interaction on, I believed that everybody who comes to our office needs to be treated the way I want them to be treated."

With that in mind, Dr. Gupta now helps dental practices around the country set the right kind of expectations for every visit and every patient who enters the practice. How does he do that? What are some of the secrets to success he has learned through the years after starting his own practice? Dr. Gupta discusses that and more with Dayna Johnson in an episode of "The High-Performing Dental Team" podcast, which you can listen to by clicking here or hitting the Play button below.