The patient-doctor relationship is imperative to help patients receive the best treatment from their healthcare providers and get better quickly. In addition, a smooth and robust medical billing system in a medical facility also improves the overall patient experience since it can allow them to, such as, get their health insurance claims accepted faster and ensure they are invoiced properly.
However, if you want your patients to get the best diagnosis and treatment and recover as soon as possible, you should know the 5 things patients want from their doctors. Read below to learn!
1. Active Listening
Patients are already worried about their health condition and want doctors to listen to them carefully. Some doctors may rush through their appointments and may not be able to give appropriate time to a patient, which can leave them feeling unsatisfied since they won’t be able to communicate their concerns.
Therefore, it’s essential to actively listen to your patients and have a genuine “conversation” with them instead of “lecturing” them. Whatever questions they have in their minds, you should ensure that they all are addressed.
2. Empathy
Patients must feel a connection with you, as this allows them to communicate better with you and return to you. You should ask them questions like their lifestyle preferences and daily routine to understand them better and help them feel like you are genuinely interested in them.
Moreover, patients may already be stressed out, and being empathetic allows you to calm them down and prevent them from feeling like they are alone in this journey. This can also give them a mental boost!
3. Clear Instructions
Whatever treatment you prescribe to your patients, you must make sure that they have properly understood it. Otherwise, your treatment won’t be effective, and they won’t be able to recover quickly.
After communicating with your patient during the appointment, you must provide them with clear instructions. For instance, what diet they should follow and when (or how) they should have medications. If there are complex medical terminologies that are harder for them to interpret, it’s your responsibility to take your time to explain them.
4. Respect
Respect is key to winning your patients’ hearts and facilitating them in recovering as soon as possible. No matter how fancy your facility is or how innovative medical equipment you have, if you don’t respect your patients, you can’t expect them to return to you.
For instance, you can offer them a bottle of water if they feel thirsty. If they simply want to discuss a small issue with you, spare them a few minutes. You definitely don’t want to make them feel disrespected by making them wait half an hour for their appointment and only giving them 5 minutes or rushing the appointment.
5. Trust
Last but not least, being empathetic and an active listener will let your patients trust you enough to comfortably share everything with you, such as sensitive topics. This will also facilitate you in tailoring the best treatment plan for them.
This way, your patients will also trust you with whatever you prescribe them and can make their recovery journey a breeze.
