It goes without saying that our surgeon’s time is valuable. Use this time wisely and a brief, meaningful interaction between the patient and your M.D. will help your conversion rates grow. A streamlined consultation process, combined with collaborative communication, will allow these precious minutes to be used prudently for a real and lasting impact.
- Minimize chair time, maximize impact
- A surgeon’s time with a patient should be brief but engaging. That means minimizing the education process of a procedure during this meeting, and accentuating it before the exam and during the work-up. Instead, focus on hearing the individual needs of the patient, reaffirming these needs, and then moving on to a recommendation.
- Instill confidence, reconfirm candidacy, provide psychological reassurance
- A firm handshake and a few sentences can make all the difference for a patient, and remove any doubt or uneasiness about moving forward. During a LASIK consult that might mean congratulating them on being a candidate, and the excitement of moving forward. For a cataract patient, this might mean clearly defining the recommendation of a lens or surgery option that will yield them their best visual outcomes. Patients are uncomfortable making such big medical decisions without the advisement of a surgeon. This is the time to make a surgeon’s recommendation clear, concise and powerful.
- Create lasting personal bond in seconds with the help of collaborative efforts and communication with the team
- Gathering crucial pieces of information like lifestyle choices, hobbies, activities, motivations and fears, can shape the outcome of a visit. Make sure your team is gathering this information throughout the appointment, so that a surgeon can highlight on these points during the exam. This acknowledgement lets your patient know your practice was listening, which may mean it’s worth listening to you.
