One of the secrets of successful clinics and offices is patient loyalty. When a patient is loyal, it means that he trusts your work and gives preference to the care provided by you.
There are several ways to retain a patient, but without a doubt, the first meeting is a great opportunity for this action. It is always good to remember that old phrase that says "the first impression is what remains", so a golden tip is to impress your patients in the first appointment.
In this article, we will teach you a loyalty technique that consists of welcoming the patient so that he sees the health professional as a friend receiving a visit at his home (where the home is the office, and the visit, the patient ).
We have already commented here on the blog about the importance of providing humanized care. The points that we will address in this article are ways to retain the patient with the premise of humanization.
Keep in mind also, that not all patients you attend following these tips will be loyal, and even many professionals may judge these tips as something laborious, but it is worth mentioning that when you seek to achieve success and excellence in care, it is necessary to leave the comfort zone.
Keep an eye on the patients during the 1st appointment
To start our tips, let's emphasize how important it is to use management software. If you don't use a medical system yet, or maybe you are looking to make changes, get to know Ninsaúde Apolo. With Ninsaúde Apolo it is easy to identify when the patient is consulting with you for the first time.
Still on the software, with the help of it, it is also possible to obtain a prospecting report, where, applying some filters, such as period, service, and health insurance, among others, you can identify which were the patients who came for a first consultation and not returned to the clinic. Knowing this, let's go to the other tips.
Receive the patient
At the beginning of this article, we mentioned that the health professional must receive the patient so that he feels like someone is going to visit a friend, right? Well, now think about it: when you go to a friend's house, he most likely welcomes you at the door. So, how about making a difference, and welcoming the patient in the same way too?
Most of the time, the receptionist or secretary is the one who calls the patient, when in the clinic there is no call panel. In general, the health professional stays in his office, just waiting for the patient's entry. However, it is possible to retain that patient right away on a first date, if you show any difference in the way you receive him, and showing that you are a good host can be the differential you are looking for.
Present your space to the patient
Do you remember the first time you visited a friend or relative? Usually, on that first visit, a good host makes sure to show you some rooms in the house, and introduce you to the barbecue, garden, etc. In that sense, you can introduce the clinic to the patient.
But make no mistake, we are not saying that you need to take a full tour, even because, although it takes you 3 minutes to do this, the other patients may see this action as something time-consuming and that will delay their consultation. What you can do is present very specific points, such as an exam room (which the patient may use) and the toilet, for example.
Offer a coffee
When we receive visits at home, it is natural that we make that hot coffee to catch up on the subject. One of the ways to make the patient feel more comfortable is offering a coffee, or if it is not to his taste, tea, juice or even a glass of water makes all the difference, because it shows that you are matters to the patient's well-being.
The act of serving a coffee can also be seen as a way of opening up so that the patient can start the conversation, and thus report even more naturally what he is feeling.
Be a good listener
Just like a friend who visits you at home, a patient when he comes to meet you also seeks to have a conversation with someone you trust, who can understand your problems and advise you in the best possible way.
In the case of the health professional, the patient seeks not only to understand what he is going through but also hopes that he can help him. In this case, be a great listener: speak little, and listen a lot. Listening to everything the patient has to say, showing that you are a great listener, helps even more in the matter of your diagnosis. That way, the patient will be able to vent about everything he has been feeling and will not have the feeling that he left the office forgetting something.
We hope that these tips can add even more to the way you conduct your care and that they can bring you great results! Always remember: if a patient does not feel well with you on the first visit, likely, there will not be a second for you to redeem yourself.
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