Are you thinking about opening up your patient list to new patients this fall? With so many different care provider options out there you want to make sure that your clinic stands out among the rest. How can you get your clinic to stand out? Make new patients feel morecomfortable! From updating your website to setting expectations prior to their first visit, here’s how you can make new patients feel comfortable.
1) Update Your Website
Before you ever meet your new patients they’re going to meet you… online. Your website is your first introduction to new patients and will set the tone for your relationship with them. Is your website clean, easy to navigate, and answers all of a new patient’s questions? Finally, does your website have a comprehensive list of everything your patients will need to bring upon their first visit? If you aren’t sure about any of these answers, you might want to take a look and see where your site can improve. Even if you did answer yes, you still should take a look.
2) Shorten the Paperwork
Ah, dreaded paperwork, the necessary devil. Lengthy paperwork forms can scare off new patients. Why? well simply put, they’re a hassle. Not only are they time-consuming but they are often filled with industry jargon that new patients may not be privy to. Try to reduce the length and the depth of the paperwork. If you can’t shorten any of the paperwork, try sending out an e-copy prior to their in-person visit to help them save time spent in-office filling out the papers. Ultimately, try to save the complicated stuff for in-person, or try to get rid of it altogether.
3) Set Expectations
This can be done on your website, in your first initial conversations prior to treatment or in the paperwork. Expectations let new patients know
1) what’s happening
2) what’s going to happen
3) how it’s going to happen
4) what to expect when treatment is happening
Obviously, with PT there are many factors in play but many of these factors are universal to the patient experience. What to expect in a session, how long sessions are, what to expect with each treatment (this may vary but universally patients should expect to be treated with kindness, attention, fairness, and compassion.)