"What do you do, say, or act like, that makes
you liked by your patients? Do you ever
ask your patients why they chose you and
your practice over others? If you knew what
they thought, would you focus on those
answers to attract more patients? It's called
medical practice management or medical
practice marketing."
About 99% of doctors don't know the answer to that question. Wouldn't you think that knowing why your patients like you and are loyal returning patients would be a fantastic leverage bit of information you could use to cultivate your practice growth? Have you ever asked your patients why they stick with your practice and not the doc up the street from your office? What is it that you provide to them that they can't find in other practices?
What would happen if you discovered there were two or three major reasons why your medical patients chose you over everybody else? Wouldn't you quickly understand that if you focused on those two factors, you would most likely recruit an even greater number of patients, have a much more financially stable medical practice, and get more referrals? Then the question comes up, "Why do doctors not care about those issues that directly affect all aspects of their medical practice?"
A few reasons might be...
- You don't care what the reasons are as long as they keep rolling in.
- If I lose a few patients, I'll gain new patients to replace them.
- If you like what I do... fine. If not, go to someone else.--plain arrogance.
- Your only desire is to make money and not about whether a patient likes you.
- Things will work to my benefit without catering to patients.
- If I knew why they came to me, it probably would not be something
I'd take action on anyway. - They think they are great just the way they are and have no reason to
improve their relations with patients. - Even if patients like you, they will eventually go elsewhere else for some reason.
- You can't socialize with patients and run your practice profitably.
Each one on this list indicates the complete lack of understanding of what makes a business successful--even a medical practice business. It points out the complete lack of business education. About 5 years later they notice that their practice growth and income has leveled off and wonder why.
Entering medical practice with the right attitude, business knowledge, and the commitment to keep it growing until you retire is the only way that any doctor has a reasonable chance of reaching their
highest potential in their profession.
Reasons why patients come to them, could be because:
- Physician explains everything thoroughly, presents all options of treatment.
- Physician lets me decide what choice of treatment I want to go with.
- Physician is very sociable and easy to talk to.
- Physician listens to me.
- Physician's staff is very personable and helpful.
- Physician is never in a hurry.
- Physician is respectful.
- Physician enjoys what he or she does.
- Physician is very knowledgeable about medicine.
- Physician has a great reputation.
- During my office visits I am treated very nicely.
(The primary reason that a patient stays with one physician, long-term.)
You can think-up a bunch more of these without much thought. If you meet all these criteria, then you must be a perfect physician for everyone. But you know that a physician can't possibly please all
their patients.
With that in mind, you likely would like to know what it is about yourself that aggravates patients and work to change that issue you have. It certainly is not comfortable seeing a patient who dislikes you. This can lead to liability problems because this kind of patient only needs one convenient reason to sue you.
Marketing for physicians is what you do and don't recognize it as marketing being done for free. If patients like you then here are a few advantages you receive from that relationship.
- Patients are quick to refer other patients to you.
- Patients brag about their physician in conversations.
- Patients refer other family members to you often.
- Patients compare their medical doctor with other patient's doctors in conversation.
- Patients add items on social media about their great medical care by you.
- Patients more willing to answer your surveys about your practice methods.
- Patients will report to you what problems occur with your staff members.
- Patients talk with nurses about their doctor, especially postop surgical patients in the hospital.
- Hospital nurses who are your patients do all these things for you that you never hear about.
What would it take to encourage all physicians to survey their patients somehow to discover these factors that keep them coming back? You want patients in your practice that not only like you, but also are happy to refer other patients to you over the years. It make sense that a doctor should make great efforts to develop the habit patterns that's best suited to keeping patients, practice growth, and provide increasing revenue at the same time.
This is all about medical practice marketing and medical practice management that you demonstrate daily wherever you come in contact with patients of your own, of other doctors, and through consultations you offer patients . It's a slow process that builds up over years of practice and should start at the beginning and be continued, never stopped, never intermittent.
Feedback from patients is very important to the direction your practice is going, and what goals you have for your practice over the long haul.
Remember--patient's rarely will tell you their honest feelings about you or your practice. You have to ask them to tell you, in a nice way of course. You can use a questionnaire with no signatures at the end--a mail in form--a form to fill out while your old patients wait to see you.
Of all the choices noted above, the single most important factor for patients liking their physician is because of how they are treated while in the office. That actually includes your office staff as well as yourself. That's a good reason now and then to hide around the corner and listen to how your staff relates to your patients. You might be surprised at what you discover. There are many disruptive events that occur in your office that you will never know about, or be told about.
You may even learn about what aspects of your professional reputation is most important.
It is just as important for you to pay close attention to the following information. The process of your medical practice management is directly related to the satisfaction patients have with your office. By applying rigid attention to the following list of highly profitable tools to use for increasing your medical practice business income.
Requirements for maximizing your private medical practice income…
1. Good knowledge of medical practice management
2. Having the energy for continuous medical practice marketing
3. Medical practice business planning is important for direction
4. Marketing for physicians and their office staff is a winning set up.
5. Learn what makes a medical practice business successful
6. Your medical practice business system is essential.
7. Both practice marketing and physician marketing is rewarding.
8. Business success is the objective of all physicians in private medical practice.
9. My business teaching website—www.marketingamedicalpractice.com
----Professional Probe----
"Surprised at learning what your
patients really liked about you?
Maybe they told you what you
wanted to hear??"
Articles©2013-2022/CGG INVESTMENTS LLC. All rights reserved. #143, 3-16-22
