Representing your practice’s brand
You’re probably thinking, “Brand? I don’t work for Starbucks. I run a medical practice.” That is how many people feel about their jobs. But in reality, we are ambassadors of our professional “brands” each time we interact with a client, vendor or peer.
We all know examples of brands that we respect. The Ritz Carlton®, Disney and Johnson & Johnson may be some that come to mind, but how do you want your patients to think about your practice? Is your practice a Wal-Mart (good value at a good price), Amazon.com (convenient, anticipate patient’s needs) or Nordstrom (high end products, excellent customer service)?
Brand perception is based on our experiences with businesses and the employees that represent them. So once you decide how your want your practice to be perceived, think about ways that you can bring that experience to life for your patients. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Value
Brown bag medicine checkups: Designate an afternoon where patients can review their prescription and over-the-counter medications with one of your physicians free of charge to find out about side effects, possible drug interactions, etc. It’s a healthy event for your patients and your practice’s business.
Payment counseling/payment plans: Your practice may already offer payment plans for patients that have difficulty paying all at once, but the way you approach counseling and plans can have a big impact on their success. Take the time to find out your patients’ individual situations (insurance eligibility, deductibles, etc.) and if a patient doesn’t have insurance provide them with your payment options before their visit, so you can provide them with the services they need while collecting payments due to you.
Convenience
ePrescribing: It’s in the news quite a bit lately, but government regulations aren’t the only reason you should be looking into an ePrescribing system. These automated tools help improve formulary compliance, which can save your patients money and frustration. They can also reduce phone calls to pharmacies for your patients and your practice. If you don’t have an Electronic Health Record system with built-in ePrescribing functionality, you may want to consider an add-on service such as Sage ePrescribe.
Health management tools: Automated tools, such as those in Sage Intergy EHR, based on your practice’s treatment protocols help you anticipate your patients’ needs due to their existing health conditions or demographic data such as age and gender. Using automated health management reminders can also help your practice comply with requirements for some pay-for-performance programs.
Evening and weekend hours: Getting in for an appointment may be increasingly difficult for patients who are working extra hours to make ends meet in this difficult economy. Offering extended hours could be a way to differentiate your practice and meet the needs of your patient base.
Quality
Practice Portals: Nothing says excellent customer service more than a superb communications vehicle. Professionally developed portals not only provide your practice with a polished, online appearance, but systems like the Intergy Practice Portal provide communication tools to your customers like appointment requests, prescription refill requests and secure messaging.
Professionally printed materials: We’ve all seen the copies of copies of copies. They can be difficult to read and don’t create a high first-rate impression. Brochures, forms and information sheets can be printed on-demand in small, easily storable quantities and when compared to the cost of paper, supplies and machine maintenance printed pieces can be quite economical.
Guidelines for all practices
There are some brand builders that work no matter what you determine as your practice’s primary traits. Reducing claim denials not only helps your practice realize revenue faster, it saves your patients untold time and frustration trying to work a system that they probably don’t understand.
Even the simplest of tools, like a smile and a friendly attitude as they make their way through your office can leave the biggest of impressions. Remember that your patients are your customers. Providing them with the service that they expect and beyond is a great way to generate recommendations and patients for life.
