Communication is a basic building block in the doctor-patient relationship, and if you want to build trust and nurture a strong base of loyal patients, your ability to communicate must be rock solid. One way to ensure this is to maximize the perceived value your practice offers, but in order to do so, you must know what “value” means to your patients.
DEFINING VALUE
From a patient’s perspective, I would define value as receiving quality service and care tailored to their needs. This applies to medical, physical, and financial needs, with an awareness of their personal circumstances. How they measure or rate “value” in these terms is likely based more on an internal feeling than any one tangible metric. How well did they connect with the doctor, staff, and clinic as a whole? Do they feel as though they got what they wanted out of the visit and that there was price transparency? Do patients feel like the products or services were worth what they invested in time, cost, and expectations? Communication plays a big role here.
ESTABLISHING TRUST
Discussing your treatment plan at the first visit is important because it sets the stage for the patient-doctor relationship. It’s at this visit that you set expectations for costs, follow-up plans, timelines, and available treatment options. I like to prioritize identifying the problem that needs to be solved and outlining with the patient what factors are important to them in finding a solution. Some patients like a step-wise approach; others prefer to fix a problem as quickly as possible by implementing multiple treatment strategies right from the start. And then there’s deciding between pharmaceutical treatments, OTC options, and at-home therapies versus procedural or surgical options. Getting to know my patients’ priorities and what they’re looking for helps me build a better regimen for them. That, in turn, builds trust, which ensures they return and follow through with my recommended treatment plan.
AN EVOLVING PERCEPTION OF VALUE
My patient encounters continuously shape my perception of value, and as I gain experience, I feel better able to gauge or anticipate what patients are looking for. Some older patients prefer the old school doctor-patient dynamic, where doctor knows best, but younger patients may prefer a doctor in an advisor type of role. These patients tend to want to know all the options available to them: the pros and cons of each, and what it costs, so they can make an informed but independent choice.
As we build trust with patients and they return to our practice, they continuously see how we strive to stay at the cutting edge of what medicine has to offer. We invest in new technology and train our staff and doctors to be able to offer the latest and greatest options. Over time, they learn more about the practice and our commitment to excellence.
The Cost Conversation, Continued
Another thing that has changed over the years is that I pay attention more to what a patient’s out-of-pocket cost is going to be, rather than the total cost. This is especially helpful for dry eye patients and those requiring specialty care, as certain treatments can be expensive, and they want to stick to the options covered by their insurance. Others are willing to pay out of pocket for the best possible outcomes. I’ve gained experience figuring out costs and helping guide the patient as to what option is best for them and their circumstances.
So, in the context of cost, how do you enhance or maximize value to patients? I simply try to provide a personalized touch with every action and word, as well as be compassionate to my patients’ needs, be they medical or financial. I patiently walk them through their options and make sure they are getting the value they are looking for.
On the Cutting Edge
We were an early adopter of the Light Adjustable Lens (RxSight), and we are offered new advanced technology IOLs as they come out. Our practice has been doing corneal cross-linking since it was FDA-approved, and we participate in clinical research for dry eye technology, new retina treatments, extended-release glaucoma pharmaceuticals, and microinvasive glaucoma surgery. We also stay on top of the latest newly approved drugs, so we are prepared to answer any questions patients may have about them. We provide these updates via social media and our e-newsletter, and I think it contributes to building trust and confidence with our patients.
Additionally, we have automated reminders for upcoming appointments, and these have dramatically improved our no-show rate. We also do automated recalls and insurance verification, and it has freed up our staff so they can focus on the patient experience. We have extended our ability to book our patients’ follow-up appointments, and we now allow scheduling up to 12 months from the day of the visit. That has helped patients—especially those with glaucoma who come back every 4 or 6 months—to just get their appoinments on the books instead of relying on a recall system to get in touch with them 5 months later. We offer online purchasing for contact lenses, and we have an online optical showroom as well.
HAPPY PATIENTS, HAPPY PRACTICE
As a clinician and a business, how do you know if your efforts to maximize value to patients are working? One obvious way is to use email and text follow-ups to send out patient experience surveys and ask for Google reviews. I remember when we implemented this 5 years ago, the number of reviews received on our Google site started rising exponentially. We now have several thousand five-star reviews, so it made a huge difference. If you add up all our locations in Minnesota, we have more than 5,000 reviews and the average rating is 4.9 stars. I will periodically check our reviews to make sure there aren’t any legitimate concerns or areas for improvement.
In addition to patient satisfaction, make sure your staff feels valued. If they are happy, enjoy their jobs, and things are going well, they will provide good care and pass on that warmth to your patients.
One of our favorite barometers of how we’re doing as a practice is how many of our patients refer a family member or friend. We want patients to have such a great experience that they tell others to come to us for their eye care needs too. Our goal is for that metric to be more than 94%, and we were at 92.8% at the end of 2024. By providing value for our patients, building their trust, and striving for continuous improvement, we feel 2025 will be our best year yet.
