A patient centered practice may not always seem like it aligns with profitability, but it absolutely can, and should, be your ultimate goal!
What is a Patient Centered Practice?
In a Patient Centered Practice, we put the patient in the forefront of our mind when we make decisions for our practice. We prioritize customer service to ensure that the patient experience is top notch, while also understanding that the flow of patients is the cornerstone of success.
Steps to Creating a Patient Centric Environment:
- Greet the patient when they walk through the door. (know their name when possible!)
- Give patients your full attention when you are talking with them.
- Offer New Patients an office tour so they can learn about your practice and your team.
- Educate patients about their dental health and their treatment.
- Discuss treatment options with patients. Involve them in the discussion.
- Offer several payment options for patients.
- Create your mission and vision statement and share it with your team and patients. This is your “why” and all team members should know and understand this purpose.
- Educate your team and provide them with ongoing opportunities to learn more about the dental industry and their area of focus so that they are all able to exceptionally serve your patients.
- Demonstrate to your team what excellent customer service looks like by treating them well.
When your team is committed to providing exceptional patient care and customer service, it shows—and your patients will notice. Not only will they be pleased (and often pleasantly surprised) by their experience, but they’ll be eager to share it. Your patients become your advocates, spreading the word about your practice throughout the community.
By nurturing these relationships, you can boost brand awareness, build a strong community reputation, and create a steady stream of new patients, all with little to no traditional marketing. Simple initiatives like a quarterly giveaway or a referral program can make patients feel valued, encouraging them to refer more often—and inspire others to do the same.
An additional benefit of creating this environment is increased engagement from your team. An engaged team supports the mission of your business, works together, and provides optimum care to patients. As a result, your practice will experience decreased turnover, less recruitment costs, and an increase in long term skilled providers who know your patients well.
While there is no ‘easy’ button for this, it is true that when you invest in treating your team and patients well, it can pay off in dividends down the road. So, what’s your why? What do you want to accomplish and who do you want to serve? Get your team on board and start creating an amazing patient experience! Your future self will thank you!
If you want help on any of the following topics, please reach out to a member of our team:
- How to Write a Mission/Vision Statement (What’s your Why?)
- How to Create Your Team’s Core Values
- How to Create an Amazing New Patient Experience
- How to Create a Patient Tour
- How to Implement a Referral Program
If you missed our last post about setting goals for 2025, you can read it here!
