Hear and THere

Hear and There
By Batteryjac.com



A process that seems to lack any real thought on the part of most hearing aid dispensers and for that matter other many other types of professional practices as is how we handle new patients when they first visit our offices. We would all pretty much agree that these patients represent an opportunity for us to expand our practices yet we seem to disregard an initial procedure that may make them uncomfortable or at the very least cause some degree of stress.

Every new patient when they enter an office for the first time is asked to fill out an information form. They are greeted, handed a clipboard with an information form, directed to a chair and instructed to fill it out as best they can while balancing the clipboard on their knees and fumbling for their reading glasses. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Well, it is. The logic given for this procedure is that “everybody” does it. Many times the patients have to start fumbling through wallets or purses searching for physician’s addresses, describe ear or hearing problems, possible medications, filling out names, addresses, telephone numbers (information you already have) and whatever else may be on the form. All this after many dollars are spent in advertising, setting appointments and perhaps sending out practice brochures telling them what friendly and professional service they can expect at your office.

There are at least two simple solutions to make this information gathering a quality practice procedure rather than a chore that most people find disagreeable (just who likes to fill out forms?) regardless of how commonplace it is. The first involves office personnel and the second is electronic communication. The latest statistics show that 55% of the people over the age of 55 have Internet access.

In the office simply have the receptionist sit down with the patient in the reception area and fill out the form for them. The worst case scenario is that someone other than the receptionist may have to answer the phone for five or ten minutes or the receptionist may have to momentarily excuse herself. There are several benefits to this other than making it easier and more hospitable for the patient. Firstly, you would be sure that all the information is correct and perhaps more importantly, the patient would feel more comfortable in the office surroundings having spoken with a staff member prior to the evaluation. Much of the necessity for the traditional “warm-up” done by the audiologist or specialist would be eliminated giving the tester more time to focus on some possible medical conditions.

If it has been determined during the appointment setting process that the patient has an e-mail address simply send the form to the patient, have them fill it out in the comfort of their own home and then have the patient bring it to the office. This accomplishes several things as well. One, you acquire their e-mail address for future communications (newsletter, specials, electronic greetings, check-up reminders, etc,) and lower your cost of keeping in touch with your patient. 98% of Internet users use e-mail regularly. Also, remember that your patients can easily forward your messages to other interested parties. You’re giving your patients an easy method for them to show perhaps other potential clients how well they are treated by your office. This could be a good way to pick up recommendations.