Sally McKenzie, CEO McKenzie Management Printer Friendly Version

The Patients' Perception is Your Reality

It’s often said that perception is reality, and certainly the patient’s perception has a direct impact on the realities of your practice. The patient’s observations significantly influence their openness to recommended care. Their insights shape their opinions of you and your dental team. The patient’s feelings affect whether they will schedule treatment today, or put it off indefinitely. And understanding your patients’ perceptions is the first step in shaping them.

I’d like you take a short walk in your patient’s shoes. Enter through the front door of your practice and look around your reception area. If you were the patient, what would you think? What image does your practice convey within the first 30 seconds? Is it a cluttered mishmash of magazines and materials? Maybe you have a copy of Golf Digest from 2006 and a few issues of National Geographic that are scattered about. Does the overall feeling of the reception area convey that you are glad the patient is there, and although the wait won’t be long, you want them to sit back and relax in a comfortable pleasing space? Or is this an area that feels more like you’re stopping by the Quick-n-Cheap oil and lube joint for the $20 filter change.

Next consider how the patient is greeted. Would you be welcomed by name if you were a patient walking into your practice?  What is the trek back to the treatment room like? Is it a dark and dreary channel linking one room to the next? Is it cluttered and crowded? Can two people pass each other or does one have to step out of the way because there’s not enough room. When you sit in the dental chair and look around the room, what does the physical appearance and technology of your practice say about you and your team? Will patients perceive that your practice is state-of-the-art, or a sorry state of affairs? Sit in the chair and look at the ceiling. Is it dirty and dingy? What about the dental exam light? Is it splattered with water spots that have ricocheted off past patients? This little stroll in your patients’ shoes should give you more than a few insights into what your practice’s physical surroundings say about you.

Without a doubt, today’s patients walk in with high expectations. Many consider themselves “quality experts.”  They may not know dentistry, but they know quality and they fully expect a “quality experience” from you and your team. If this is a new patient, you simply must WOW them well before you personally even greet them.

Yes, their expectations are high, but so too is their appreciation of what dentistry has to offer. And just because discretionary income is down, that doesn’t mean you dial back the patient experience or the patient education. Patients remain very interested in what dentistry can do for them. Even if they aren’t spending as much right now, they are still exploring dental topics on the Internet. And they are more aware of new technologies, methods, and products than ever before.

Take these steps to ensure the patient’s perceptions of you and your team translate into improved realities for your bottom-line both now and in the coming months.   

1. Spread the word. Perhaps you and your staff have recently participated in continuing education programs that will benefit your patients. Tell them!
2. Inform patients about new services you’ve integrated into the practice since their last appointment that are designed to improve delivery of care.
3. Explain exciting new technologies, such as digital radiographs, digital impressions, etc. Take a moment to tell patients how your investment will directly benefit them and why you chose to use the more advanced technologies.
4. Educate patients when they are not in the dental chair. Provide professionally written and designed materials that inform them about new services and procedures.
5. Take time to educate yourself as well. Learn about your patient’s dental interests, their oral health goals. Ask if they have questions about new technologies and procedures. The interest you show in them personally will significantly influence their perceived value in your dental care.

And those perceptions will translate into excellent realities for your practice, both today and well into the future.

Sally McKenzie is CEO of McKenzie Management, a nationwide dental management, practice development and educational consulting firm. Working on-site with dentists since 1980, McKenzie Management provides knowledge, guidance and personalized solutions that have propelled thousands of general and specialty practices to realize their potential.

Interested in speaking to Sally about your practice concerns? Email her at sally@thedentistsnetwork.net or call 1.877.777.6151.

Interested in having Sally speak to your dental society or study club? Click here.

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