3/28/2016

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Beth Rich Martin, BS, COC

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Key Points We’ll Review Quality in Healthcare

Who’s Your Boss?

How Should You Treat Your Boss?

Poor Service Spells Disaster

Patient Relations Toolbox

The Angry Patient

12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient

Don’t Fall Into Bad Service Traps

Ins and Outs of Patient Satisfaction Surveys and Complaints

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3/28/2016

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Quality in Healthcare

What does quality in healthcare mean?

Review of common definitions of quality from providers

Do providers tie quality of healthcare to patient relations/customer service?

Is the quality of healthcare tied to customer retention?

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Who’s Your Boss? Let’s talk revenue:

Sources of revenue for any healthcare facility

How revenue is generated

Who pays your salary and the salaries of everyone working for providers

The patient is your boss:

Why the boss matters to you, the provider, and ultimate success

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How Should You Treat Your Boss? Golden rules of service and treating your boss right:

Patients - your customers/your boss

Healthcare customers are unique

First and last interaction always remembered

Best friend

Family member

Unique service requirements in healthcare

Empathy/sympathy/compassion

Examples of great service in industry: “Give ‘em the Pickle”

Patients don’t care what mood YOU’RE in

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Poor Service Spells Disaster Badmouthing - The 5/20 Rule

Lost revenue

Closing the doors, if service is bad enough

Loss of pride and value

Low morale, lack of caring about job/provider

Community perception

Disgruntled team members

Online negativity

Other providers’ perceptions

BBB complaints

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Patient Relations Toolbox

What are examples of “service disasters” and common complaints? Let’s examine these….

Use the Toolbox as your arsenal - What’s in the Toolbox?

Techniques to improve communications:

In-person and via phone – Intros, in-betweens, goodbyes, follow-ups

Website – Navigation, speed, forms, down-time

Emails – Yes or no? Professional, quick response time

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Patient Relations Toolbox, cont. Physical attributes – Clean, organized, inviting:

Waiting area

Parking

Signage

Accessibility

Elevators/escalators

Appointment processes – Efficient, friendly:

How soon?

Overbooking

Wait time upon arrival

Appointment verification

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Patient Relations Toolbox, cont.

Patient registration processes – Welcome and appreciate:

Your patient – Is your perception friend or foe?

Intros, welcome, names, name tags

Sign-in process

Forms explained

Time for questions

Easy processes to follow – offer help if not

Are you blaming your computer for problems?

Directing patients to other areas

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Patient Relations Toolbox, cont.

Billing and follow-up processes - Bill right the first time:

Payer accuracy and order of multiple payers

Correct payment posting

Balance billing to the patient

Timeliness

Don’t bill if already paid or under payer consideration

Staffing – Staff are the “service ambassadors”

Hire those who want to serve others

Training is key – upon hire, ongoing

Accountability for service delivery

The 3 Cs – Courtesy, Confidentiality, Credibility

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Patient Relations Toolbox, cont. Staffing – Staff are the “service ambassadors,” cont.

Recognize/reward great service

If patients see you, you are a service ambassador

Manners, emotional maturity

Positive attitude, even-keeled

Helpful, organized, timely

Listening skills, not distracted

Sense of humor

Importance of internal customers

Impact to morale

Act “as if” even if you don’t feel like it

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The Angry Patient Remember the 5/20 rule?

Why is the angry patient so angry?

Let’s review…

Why is the angry patient such a challenge?

Let’s explore…

Anger in person or over the phone…

What does the angry patient really want?

How do we find out?

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient1. Remain calm

It’s not about you

Don’t take the situation personally

Watch facial expression and tone

Mentally remove yourself from the situation

Why “Please calm down” fails every time

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

2. Acknowledge the patient

Eye contact

Concerned expression

Interest, sincerity, caring

Act “as if” even if you don’t feel like it

Remember: Your best friend, your family member

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

3. Apologize and say you will help

Don’t interrupt

Introduce yourself, ask the patient’s name

How to apologize sincerely without placing blame on people, processes, the organization

No, you don’t know how it feels (unless you really know how it feels) – why this tactic sinks the ship

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

What to avoid at all costs – saying:

It’s not my fault…

That’s not my job…

I find it hard to believe….

We’ve had a lot of complaints about…(person, process)

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

4. Allow the patient to vent

Don’t interrupt, argue, or state your “case”

Don’t try to “win” the argument

Don’t talk over the patient

Maintain eye contact, concerned expression

The patient will eventually stop talking

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

What to avoid at all costs – saying:

Just let me finish…

If I could just say something…

Now, you know that’s not true…

If you’ll just wait a minute…

Just hold on now…

I am courteous to you, and you should be courteous to me…

AND

Sighing or eye rolling

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

5. Listen carefully and take notes

Grab a pen and paper, fast

Gather pertinent info.

Process helps you to remain calm

Shows the patient you’re concerned

Don’t ignore while writing, keep regular eye contact

Explain why you’re writing (if given the chance)

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

6. Ask the patient for her name – if you didn’t get the chance

Wait for a pause

Quickly ask

Write it down

Don’t use first names

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

7. Ask the patient to go to a private area

Avoid public outbursts

Confidentiality concerns

Upsetting other patients

Techniques for tactfully guiding the patient

Don’t pass the duty to someone else unless you can’t leave your area

If you do have to pass the duty, fully explain the situation

Don’t make the patient repeat the problem

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

8. Buy some time

Gives patient time to cool off

Private area – quiet, comfortable seating, no distractions

Why offering a beverage is a win

Items you will need to find

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

9. Investigate the problem

Apologize again

Thank the patient

You want to help

Fully investigate using facts/records

Express sincerity

Gather your notes, repeat back to clarify

Ask follow-up questions if needed

Remember the goals: Gather facts, Determine what happened, Resolve the problem

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

10. Ask for help if you need it

For questions you can’t answer

Determine who

Tell the patient why

Explain the problem to the person helping so the patient doesn’t have to

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

11. Resolve the problem and end on a positive note

Discuss the resolution

Ask for resolution suggestions

What to do if further investigation is needed

Apologize, don’t blame

Thank the patient

Provide business card, contact info, next steps

Offer another beverage? Parking ticket validation? Office pen and/or pad?

Walk patient out, say “Goodbye,” “Have a nice day”

Don’t allow the patient to leave without resolution –remember the 5/20 rule

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

12. Document the meeting and perform follow-up

Use software

Outline pertinent data: name, date, problem, solution, steps followed, further follow-up needed (if any)

Accounts on hold

Research

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12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient,cont.

Bonus Tips to Handle the Angry Patient:

Why you should avoid:

Saying “There’s nothing I can do…” or “It’s our policy that…”

Giving the patient orders about behavior or manners

Asking your manager to step in when help isn’t necessary

Calling security if not warranted

Talking negatively about the patient after she is gone

Techniques for dealing with:

Angry patients over the phone

Angry family members in person or over the phone

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Don’t Fall Into Bad Service TrapsEnsure bad service if you:

Don’t offer to help

Force patients to adhere to your internal processes that only make sense to employees

Tell patients they aren’t following your processes

Make patients repeatedly complete the same forms

Discuss patients in front of other patients

Blame patients if you can’t hear or understand them

Blame the computer or processes

Tell patients it’s not your problem

Tell patients to go somewhere else

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Don’t Fall Into Bad Service Traps, cont.

Ensure bad service if you:

Waste the patient’s time

Fail to listen

Say “There you go” instead of “Thank you”

Fail to greet the patient or say “goodbye”

Provide a contact email on your website if you won’t use it

Create a confusing website

Use healthcare jargon

Leave patients on their own when they could use your help

Fail to empathize/sympathize

Forget patients don’t have to use your services

Tell patients to go somewhere else29

Don’t Fall Into Bad Service Traps, cont.Ensure bad service if you:

Fail to realize many patients won’t complain about poor service – get to the root of the problem

Fail to train on delivering excellent service

Fail to follow-up anyway when you don’t have the answer yet

Are inaccessible to patients, including clinicians

Belittle patients or assume their problems aren’t significant

Think that insincerity won’t be obvious

Fail to recognize patients’ milestones – birthdays, anniversaries

Fail to acknowledge patients’ difficulties – health, travel to appointments, family issues

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Ins and Outs of Patient Satisfaction Surveys and Complaints

Why bad news may be good news after all

Designing the survey – For the provider and the patient

Frequency of surveys

Tallying results, discussions, follow-up – Internal, with patient

Hardcopy or online – Benefits, drawbacks

Negative or positive reviews – To respond or not to respond? How to respond?

Why should you care?

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Recap Quality in Healthcare

Who’s Your Boss?

How Should You Treat Your Boss?

Poor Service Spells Disaster

Patient Relations Toolbox

The Angry Patient

12-Step Arsenal to Calm the Angry Patient

Don’t Fall Into Bad Service Traps

Ins and Outs of Patient Satisfaction Surveys and Complaints

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