Offering Education

With so much information readily available at the touch of a fingertip, patients are no longer satisfied with what their doctor tells them about a particular medical condition or issue during their appointment – they want to learn more about it afterward. This presents yet another arena in which you can provide good customer service: education.
 
Rather than patients going to a community-sponsored event, the Internet (which isn’t always reliable) or some other resource to find out more about a health condition, why not offer it to them yourself? Practices that provide seminars, webinars, pamphlets and even specific information on their own websites can better control the information that patients are exposed to, which helps ensure their compliance with your treatment, leading to better outcomes.
 
Also, why not be seen as the expert in your particular field? When you provide accurate and helpful information to patients about medical issues, they will come to rely on you and turn to you as a provider. It helps engender loyalty and may even cause them to refer other patients to you.
 
It’s also extremely comforting to patients to have a provider who is knowledgeable and able to share that knowledge with them in a variety of formats. That way, they can choose the method that’s most convenient for them to get the facts, and they don’t have to seek out another source who might not provide accurate information to them – in fact, they could potentially learn something from another source that is inaccurate and conflicts with your advice, which can create problems in their treatment.
 
Think of yourself not only as a provider, but also as an educator. Your patients will appreciate this added service, and it boosts your reputation in the community as well.