Keeping in touch between visits

One of the myriad items that differentiate practices with high patient retention rates is how physicians interact with patients between office visits. Doctors can & do take technologies to such extremes that they de-personalize the patient.

For example, do you send birthday cards to patients to help you “keep in touch?” Great! Do you place computer generated mailing labels on the envelopes? Uh Oh! And finally, is the entire birthday card computer generated, or does it have a pre-printed label you created inside the card? If so, you’re sending your patients the wrong message.

Generate a list of birthdays weekly or monthly from ECLIPSE and assign a staff member with good handwriting skills to address the cards & envelopes by hand. Either sign them yourself or have your staff member do it. You’ve managed to both utilize technology and brighten a patient’s day. After 25 years in practice I can assure you that odds are high your patient will both remember and appreciate the gesture… and may be more likely to refer friends.

If that’s beyond your capabilities, consider using a service to mail/email personalized cards. However, I’ve always preferred the method above and believe that — even amongst a generation that does everything online — patients will appreciate that you went the extra mile.

Next, text messages can be a great way to remind a patient that she missed her appointment 30 minutes ago. But, a day or two later, you need to consider the possibility that she may be indifferent — as opposed to forgetful. In order to avoid losing the patient, a personal call by a doctor or trusted staff member allows for the possibility of intervention to explain why care should be continued, or explore other issues. (The patient may not feel she’s improving, may have concerns about the cost of care, etc.) Though this may take the longest… it’s also most likely to provide the best returns.

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