Eyeworld

OPHTHALMOLOGY BUSINESS 64 November 2018 by John B. Pinto and Corinne Wohl, MHSA, COE ten surveys, phone surveys, focus groups.) We track our progress over time, and have agreed on an objec- tive, minimum score that we work to consistently exceed. ___ 13. Our administrator routine- ly gets up from his/her desk and walks the clinic floor, first to directly observe and assure that the practice is running smoothly and second to engage patients in a friendly conver- sation about how their visit is going. An example (spoken to a patient in the sub-wait/dilating areas) is: "Hi, I'm Anita, the practice's adminis- trator. How are we doing for you today? Is there anything we could improve today or on future visits?" ___ 14. The first staff that most patients meet are our operators and receptionists. Because these workers set the tone for how the rest of the visit will go, we hire and train for exceptional warmth and friendliness in these roles. We only pick staff who can be cheerful to the grump- iest people over and over again throughout the day. ___ 15. Because patients spend more time with technical staff than with any other workers in the practice, the head technician is our most vig- ilant customer satisfaction monitor. He/she questions techs and scribes closely for any evidence of service gaps, adverse patient-doctor interac- tion, a lack of gentle treatment or a kind word. ___ 16. We know that for most patients, their chief complaint in the clinic is not "dry eye" or "blurry vision," but "excess waiting time." Accordingly, managers in each department conduct regular time studies and have not-to-exceed stan- dards their team needs to hit. ___ 17. We observe the basics of being a good host to our visitors: a scrupulously clean facility, enough space and seating so that everyone is comfortably accommodated, handi- capped patient access, refreshments, calming background music, and interesting reading material to help pass the time. "Southwest Airlines is successful because the company understands it's a customer service company that just happens to be an airline." —Harvey Mackay F ew patients have a back- ground allowing them to gauge the objective quality of the eye care they receive. But every one of your pa- tients is a perfect instrument when it comes to measuring the caring and value they receive from your practice. They know "20/happy" when they get it. Although doctors are at the heart of providing ophthalmic care, your management team is the front line for assuring a high level of cus- tomer satisfaction. Here's a quick assessment you can take to determine how your managers—and the overall practice enterprise—are doing in fostering patient contentment. Below are 20 activities and attributes that help to drive higher levels of patient satis- faction. Rank each on a 0 to 5 scale (where "0" means your practice does this poorly or not at all, and "5" means your practice excels at this.) ___ 1. We have formally designated a member of our practice to be in charge of monitoring and improv- ing each patient's experience during his/her visit with our practice. (This can be the administrator, a depart- ment head, or a provider.) ___ 2. We have agreed on and written out the hallmarks of what we think it means to deliver an excellent experience for patients, including such things as maximum waiting and total visit time, address- ing each patient's chief complaint specifically, making sure the patient leaves knowing what he/she should do next about any medical condi- tion, etc. ___ 3. In our practice, we consider a complaining patient an early warn- ing sign of something we could be doing better because we know that for every patient who complains about something there are probably many who suffer in silence. ___ 4. We have a formal, written process for logging and respond- ing to patient complaints. Once a problem has been logged, a manager or the practice administrator has to formally "close the case" and sign off that the patient's concerns have been appropriately addressed. ___ 5. Our practice has training materials for teaching both staff and providers how to provide a more caring, patient-friendly environ- ment and how to respond to every- thing from minor grumbles to major service mishaps. ___ 6. Our administrator and mid-level managers receive ongo- ing, specific training not only on customer care, but on how to train staff on the elements of providing superior customer service. We "train the trainers" so that our customer service mission is constantly im- proving for the better. ___ 7. During staff meetings we often bring up examples of good and poor customer service, so that our team over time develops widely understood standards for patient care and caring. ___ 8. At the time of our annual staff and doctor performance reviews, each member of our practice is graded (among other things) on their sensitivity to and success at providing each patient with a great experience in our practice. If the performance score is low, we initiate remedial training and subsequent oversight. ___ 9. We manage patient expecta- tions so that they match what we can reasonably deliver. An example would be to tell a patient at check-in if the practice is running on time, or advising a new surgical consult patient that their appointment will involve extra testing that will be more time consuming. ___ 10. During the course of a patient's visit to our office, we ask a lot of "checking in" questions: "Do you have any special needs or questions during today's visit?" "Are you comfortable?" "Do you have any questions about what I have just described?" "Before we wrap up today do you have any final ques- tions for me?" ___ 11. Because we know it is sometimes uncomfortable to have an eye exam, and some patients are especially apprehensive, we work hard to comfort and soothe anxi- eties. We do this by things such as our tone of voice, not rushing, and letting patients know ahead of time when something uncomfortable (a bright light or needle stick) is about to happen. ___ 12. We formally measure and report on patient satisfaction. (There are numerous ways to do this: writ- How to boost and improve each patient's experience To the point: simple practice tune-ups for complex times

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