Here is a practice tip that may save you a ton of angst. Educate, educate, educate. What does that mean? Well, I have talked about using a newsletter or PDF to educate your prospective patients about DPC. That is critical to stave off questions later after they joined. But what about your active panel? They need education too. Why? Well, let’s use the cold and flu season as an example. I would send an email to EVERYONE when a wave of URIs were passing through. I also included the same info in my weekly newsletter, which my successor is still doing. I would explain what I was seeing in the community and how it is viral and how to treat it as best as possible (and how antibiotics don’t work). Patients loved the information and really felt I was looking out for them. And I was. But I was also looking out for me!
Why is this so?
During cold and flu season it seems like everyone wants to get in or get an antibiotic. Both are usually useless. That doesn’t mean patients won’t stop asking. Your first line of defense is the email/newsletter with the above information. I cannot tell you how many patients would email me back relieved to have my advice. What about those who still email you or call because they haven’t looked at what you sent them. You nicely listen to their complaints and refer them back to your email. Does it work every time? No. But you may cut down 75% of people asking for unnecessary appointments or antibiotics.
Trust me on this one. This practice tip is gold.
[…] does not mean seeing every patient in person for every complaint. I recently blogged about on how to stop patients from clamoring to get in during cold and flu season. To counteract blocking some patients from getting in you use an email or newsletter to educate […]