Your Patient's Pet Peeves


Last month, we conducted a survey of patients in medical practices to find out what they would like out of their relationships with their providers and what really irked them. Here are our findings:

Appointment wait time is still the number one cause for complaint for patients in health care practices. The study, conducted by Npress, aimed to discover current trends in patient satisfaction. Participants were asked to name their number one pet peeve when seeking the care of a health care provider. They were also asked to specify which types of practices they frequent.

The survey found that excessive wait time at an office prior to an appointment was the primary criticism of 72 percent of the 500- person sample.  Respondents suggested numerous remedies including: “an advanced courtesy call if the wait can be anticipated”, “check in to let me know what is going on,” or “offer me a drink after I’ve been waiting fifteen minutes.”
Additional findings from the survey:

  • Frustration with the lack of upfront information about the full cost of care was expressed by 41% of patients with insurance.
  • 19% of respondents who frequent specialty practices mentioned that they would like to feel remembered by the staff. As one respondent put it, “how does the receptionist not know my name with more than 10 visits in a 6-month period?”
  • More than a quarter of survey respondents would like to be able to reach their doctor after hours or have a reliable message service available.
  • What would be nice? Several respondents mentioned they would like to receive a printout of the day’s visit with stats like blood pressure, weight, etc, as well as what was discussed, and suggested actions.

One overarching conclusion from the survey is that if doctors want to differentiate themselves and provide an exceptional patient experience, they should provide outward signs that they are doing something patient complaints, specifically regarding appointment wait times.

Develop Your Annual Practice Marketing Plan


Your annual marketing plan will assist you in growing your practice and figuring out what it is that you need to do, how to do it, and when to do it. We have a new 6 day marketing course we will revisit your marketing goals and determine what it is that you hope to achieve in the upcoming year with your marketing efforts.

How it works:
Over the next six days I will walk you through the steps of creating a solid marketing plan for your health care practice. At the end of our course you will have completed the following:
  • Preparation of your mission statement and vision for the next few months.
  • Discover and define your target patients.
  • Develop and plan your marketing strategy.
  • Develop your marketing mix.
  • Create a marketing calendar that serves as your schedule of marketing activities and events for the upcoming year.

When you have finished the course you will have a strong marketing plan in your hand. This will become a tool that will help you market your practice while attending to patients and your other responsibilities.

Sound good? Ok, now it is time to get started… 

Send an email to sarah@npressnewsletter.com with “Marketing Plan” in the subject line. Each day you will receive a new lesson and assignment to complete. I will be available to coach you through the 6 days and by the time you have completed the 6th day you will have created your annual marketing plan.