20 Things You Should Never Say To Your Patient
In a previous post, we emphasized the importance of communicating effectively to patients waiting to see the doctor in the waiting room. A creative and persuasive way is to use sticky notes by applying them to a brochure or any leaflet or magazine that we can simply hand out to the patient. No matter how good you and your staff are at communication skills you need to constantly learn and improve to be able to effectively communicate with the largest population. Some practices have weak communication skills and they know that they need to work a lot to improve. However, very few know that success in eye care practices is highly dependent on communication.
Successful practices master the art of communication that consists of both communicating persuasive messages and restraining from saying certain things. There are many things that you should avoid saying to patients and/or to their parents, family members, and people accompanying them. Those things can cause dissatisfaction and therefore should be avoided at all costs. There are also printed things that convey dissatisfying messages like providing deceptive promises, false claims, unsupported guarantees, forcing personal opinion, and incorrect information about research results and products effects.
Among those messages that eye care professionals should avoid saying we find:
I’m going to be honest with you and tell you the following fact…
You are wrong, …
What this practitioner told you is not true…
You cannot believe what you read on social media or what you hear on the radio, …,
Google it, …
Go ask anybody, they will tell you the same, …
How many times have you been through this to argue about it?
I have done it before, don’t worry about it…
That’s dirt cheap, …
Haven’t you heard what I just told you?
You are the only one complaining about progressive lenses…
If you will not take care of your contact lenses, you can simply stop wearing contacts…
I will check it when I’m less busy, …
Next, …
Please don’t waste my time, …
Why are you worried? You have the best insurance…
If God permits,
This is unprofessional, … We don’t do such work…
The last time one of my staff performed this service we fired him…
I’m not sure I said that, …
I’m sorry.