Everyday Oral Surgery Drs. Hull, Salomon and Stucki: when to offer a refund, how to deal with bad reviews, and how to get more good reviews
If you have a medical practice for more than a week, you will undoubtedly receive some bad patient reviews. This is a part of life as a health professional, but that doesn't mean that there are not ways to minimize the number of these or deal with them in a more suitable way. Today, we host a discussion between Dr. Stucki, Dr. Hull, and Dr. Salomon on this exact topic, looking at patient experiences, expectations, disagreements, and more! Some of the main takeaways include a proactive approach to communicating with a disgruntled patient, the importance of staff education and training, useful reward systems, and the power of empathy for a patient's difficulties. Though these situations may not always be within our control as oral surgeons, we always have control over our own responses, so finding the best ways for you, your staff, and your patients, will serve everyone's interests in the long run. We spend some time contemplating online reviews and the bias towards negative reviews that seems part of the natural human psyche. The conversation also covers the tools that can be utilized for the review process and setting these up in the most effective way. So for all that from our panel of experts, be sure to listen in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
- The frequency of issues related to staff and elements of the patient experience.
- Groundwork for patient expectations around payment and waiting times.
- Dealing with problems arising from other practitioners and disagreements about treatment.
- The importance of great communication in trying to find resolutions to issues.
- Questions about refunding and making up for different types of bad experiences.
- Handling these tough discussions and when to admit a fault or not.
- Why the extra effort usually pays off; with good reviews from patients.
- Demonstrating care to patients explicitly; diffusing situations and easing tension.
- How to deal with bad reviews; prevention and helpful tools and technologies.
- Motivating staff through rewards for good reviews!
- Evaluating the different review platforms and picking the ones to utilize internally.
- The relationship between in-person follow-ups and reviews.
- Creating a great customer experience through a united approach from the whole practice.
- Positive reinforcement and bonuses for staff members as a means to boost employee morale.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Dr. Grant Stucki Phone Number — +1 720-775-5843