Pleasing patients: Some easy steps to take

If patients are happy, you're happy. At least, you might consider that school of thought, given that consumers are becoming more responsible for their own health care spending.

By Julie A. Jacob, AMNews staff. May 27, 2002.

Family physician Carl Trusler, MD, knows that when it comes to pleasing patients, it's the little things that count.

When patients come to his practice, part of a 32-physician multispecialty group in Abilene, Texas, he makes sure a receptionist answers the telephone, instead of patients getting voice mail. His waiting room has chairs that are comfortable for elderly patients. He sets aside an hour or so each day to treat sick patients who need same-day appointments.

"Patients feel bad when they come to the doctor," Dr. Trusler said. "Whatever you do to make patients feel better helps them get better soon."

Dr. Trusler's little touches of thoughtfulness are what improving patient satisfaction is all about. It's simply the art of making people feel welcome and appreciated.

In addition to making patients feel better, attention to patient satisfaction pays off in increased patient loyalty. This is especially important now that more and more patients are shifting to PPOs, which have broad networks from which patients can choose physicians. Some patients even have employer-sponsored health spending accounts that patients can use for any physician they choose.

"Good customers are satisfied with the service, they are more likely to remain loyal and physicians don't have to look for new patients," said Maqbool Dada, PhD, a professor of management at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., who has done research on health care management.

Paying close attention to satisfying patients "keeps the business going and allows you to grow your practice," said Mark Ryan, MD, an internist who practices with Medical Associates of the Finger Lakes, an 18-physician multispecialty group in Geneva, N.Y. "If somebody I'm seeing is unhappy with the way the office is running, they have less confidence." [...]