Because medical care is something everyone needs, it can be easy to forget that medical care is a service and patients are customers. But good customer service is just as important in medicine as it is in any other field, and because people's health is so important, bad medical care or shoddy customer service might cause clients to complain to local licensing boards or engage in other actions that can harm a medical business.
Good Medical Care
Good medical care is the most important component of good service in the medical field. No matter how nice a doctor or nurse is, a patient will not feel good about her experience if she's misdiagnosed or not given good medical advice. Important components of providing good medical care include carefully examining a patient's chart, double-checking prescriptions to prevent mistakes, taking time to listen to a patient's concerns and not rushing through procedures. Some patients, especially those who are very sick or anxious, might need medical professionals to take extra time with them, and doing this is an important part of good customer service.
Proper Billing Practices
Medical care can be expensive, and billing procedures are often confusing to patients. Medical offices should inform patients of billing practices upfront and should make sure that insurance and Medicare are properly and timely billed. Provide patients with invoices outlining the services they've received and the costs of these services, and offer a dispute process if a patient disputes all or part of her bill.
Privacy isn't just a courtesy; it's mandated by federal and local laws. Medical offices must not reveal confidential patient information, and should take measures to ensure patient privacy is protected. This includes not giving medical information out to friends or family members without permission, providing a private location where a patient can ask medical questions, ensuring that a patient's records are not left out where someone else can see them, and ensuring that computer records are secured. When patients know that their privacy is protected, they're much more likely to be honest with their doctors.
Some principles of customer service in medicine are the same as in other fields. Staff should be friendly, courteous and respectful, and should help answer patient questions. People are often anxious about going to the doctor, and staff should be mindful of this. Additionally, patients should have ready access to answers about medical questions. When patients can access a nurse line, email a doctor or talk to a receptionist about whether their symptoms warrant an exam, they're more likely to get good healthcare and their satisfaction with their healthcare provider will increase.
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