A successful business seeks to know what its customers want most and then delivers.
Starbucks, one of the most recognized and admired brands in the world, has made connecting with its customers a key ingredient to their business culture and their bottom line.
A Value-Based Business
Healthcare is moving from a business of volume to a business of value and your patients’ perception will be a key factor in the determination of value.
With that in mind, you have to ask yourself – what do my patients want from me?
Interpreting this can be a challenge. Do they want lower fees? Easier payment plans? The latest meaningful use of technology? Evening hours?
Here’s one that we know for sure. Surveys have shown that the time patients must wait to get into your office has a direct impact on their satisfaction with your office as a whole.
Merritt Hawkins, a physician search and consulting firm recently completed a survey of patient wait times measured in the number of days it takes to get into the office. The following chart is a summary of their research:
So, maybe patients are looking for a doctor that can see them in a timely manner. Or, are they looking for something else?
What do you think?
Care and Generosity Trumps All
In his book Everything is Marketing, Fred Joyal writes, “What they want is less tangible but almost universal when it comes to healthcare providers. Study after study shows the same thing. The number one thing patients want most is to feel that the doctor and his team care about them.”
In my discussions with clients over the years, I have heard some great stories about the care given to patients and the difference it makes in both the life of a patient and in the life of the doctor.
Sometimes, from my seat, it seems that the business of healthcare is too focused on finances, taxes, and cash flow. While a business can’t survive without healthy profits, it may be good to remember that healthcare is really about caring for the patient.
But you knew that right? That’s why you got into the business.
Thank you for caring. And keep practicing with purpose!
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