The elusive quest

04 December 2014
Volume 30 · Issue 5

Paul Mendlesohn reveals how to achieve patient satisfaction.

In his famous novel The Water Babies Charles Kingsleyintroduced a character called MrsDoasyouwouldbedoneby. As you mightexpect from a children’s book with astrong moral thread, her name reflectsthe idea that we should behave fairlytowards others in the expectation thatothers will reciprocate.

 

There’s something of a moral there too for those of us in practice, especially if we have expectations that our patients will behave in a certain way and indeed if we want them to experience high levels of satisfaction. As patients ourselves, we have certain expectations and requirements which must be met if we are going to be satisfied – let alone pleased - with our experience. So reflecting on what would give us satisfaction is no bad place to start. But in doing so are we missing something? What are patients really looking for?

 

Some of you may recall that the General Dental Council carried out a survey on patient expectations some three years ago. Key priorities identified.” by patients included the hygiene and cleanliness of practices, the knowledge and technical ability of staff, and treatment outcomes. No great surprises there perhaps. However patients also identified being treated with dignity and respect and good communication skills as important qualities, and the GDC commented at the time that many of the complaints received by both itself and the Dental Complaints Service indicated that customer service and communication skills play a crucial role in a patient’s decision to return to their dentist.

 

Research from the US on patient requirements also makes for interesting reading and although not all ideas travel well across the pond, some do, and many of the areas highlighted are worth considering to help us reflect on how we in our own practices measure up. Here are some of the key highlights of what patients want:

 

Friendly and empathetic staff

The fact is that no matter how friendly your staff think they are, what matters is how they come across to patients – especially on the telephone. Some staff are great in person but patients might never get to meet them if their allimportant first telephone experience is not a good one. If your staff are not great in person, or bicker amongst themselves in front of patients, you are never going to score highly in patient satisfaction terms. And don’t forget that should something go wrong on the friendliness front patients will be watching how you deal with it.

 

High standards of sterilisation, cross-infection control and general cleanliness

No matter how good your cross infection procedures are and how many audits you do, if there are dead flies in the light fitting or in the loo and reception desk are not scrupulously clean patients will have misgivings about your standards of cleanliness generally. How many dust traps lurk in the shape of charity boxes and other clutter on a reception desk? What impression does that give?

 

Post treatment phone calls

These are important to patient satisfaction levels and there is some evidence to suggest that patients are more likely to stay with a dentist who calls them after treatment themselves, rather than one who asks a member of staff to do this.

 

The quality of everyone’s smile

Patients will consider the quality the smiles that they see in the practice – of you and your staff, and view that as evidence of the quality of care you provide. Are you and your staff a good advert for your own work?

 

A prompt new-patient appointment

How long does a patient have to wait to be seen for the first time in your practice? It is suggested that if this is more than two days, patients may choose to look elsewhere.

 

Running to time

I know this is appears many times in surveys but it still seems to be really important in determining a patient’s view of a dentist and whether they are satisfied or not. If you are late, for whatever reason, the patient may consider this a demonstration of a lack of respect for their time, particularly if it is for them a regular occurrence.

 

Convenient practice hours This still seems to be crucial in topatients’ levels of satisfaction – as isconvenience of location. It is easy toforget too that patients may well findit much more difficult than it used tobe to get time off work for a dentalappointment and may have to use someof their hard earned holiday entitlementto visit you. If your practice is not inthe most convenient location do makesure that you communicate to patientsthe positives, the easiest way of gettingto the practice, where and how topark, and if necessary consider payingfor parking space or reimbursing theirparking fee so that patients can park(and review your private fees to take thiscost into consideration).

 

Well-explained treatment plans and financial options

Just as the CQC and GDC would expect, patients want their dentist to explain the treatments being recommended and answer any questions they have – and not feel rushed in doing so. When it comes to finance there is some evidence from the US that patients want more than one financial option to consider in order for them to feel satisfied with the experience they have had. They also want a clear and honest discussion of the costs involved in the proposed treatment. Many patients still view dentistry as expensive and need to feel comfortable with the investment they are making in their health.

 

At the heart of all of this is looking at things from the patient’s point of view. You may feel you are doing all of these things. If so, that’s great. But why not make sure? “Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.” The author of that phrase is lost in the mists of time but the sentiment is worth reflecting on. Exactly what is it like to be a patient in your practice? Do results of your patient satisfaction questionnaires show what you expected to see? If not, what actions have you taken to make sure that they do? What is the real patient experience (as opposed to the one you would like patients to have or the one written down in your practice manual) when they try to call your practice, visit reception at two in the afternoon or nine in the morning or try to make head or tail of a treatment plan? What finance options (in the plural) do they actually have? If, when reviewing this, there is something there that you wouldn’t like if you were in their shoes, do remember Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby.