I am retired now so I can use the word “crazy” or “mean”. Why? Because I don’t care anymore and because they are! Some patients you take on have borderline personality disorders. Some patients you take on are just mean and nasty. The world is full of them. It’s called life and though this reality check may cause me to be criticized by some altruistic do-gooders, so be it. The worst part about these patients is that they not only drive you insane but they can also leave bad reviews (or multiple reviews) on Google, Yelp, and any other rating site which affects your practice. So, what should you do?
The answer is NOT simple.
First, this is why I recommend a meet-and-greet with every possible new prospective patient who wants to come to your office. I would tell them to come in to see if they actually liked me, the staff, or the office. But what it was really for me to make sure they were a fit. I, like you, can usually sniff out bat sh%t crazy or mean within a few minutes of meeting someone. Then if they were, I would end the meet-and-greet with a handshake and we would tell them we would get back when there were openings. And there never were.
Unfortunately, sometimes these people do slip and it sucks. I had a narc seeker fool me and when I denied the escalation of meds it was pure chaos. They went right after the ratings sites with terrible comments.
With this in mind, here are some things you can do:
- Write them a Cease and Desist letter with the help of a lawyer. It should include something about defamation of character for libel and/or slander. If you are on FB DPC Docs there is an example letter from California that has been used.
- Have your friends and other DPC docs send in great reviews. Space this out so Google, etc. doesn’t think something was fishy.
- Start working on other patients to give you good reviews. We should value ourselves and there are classy ways to ask for these reviews. See my book Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity).
- Ignore it. Or, maybe, give a short and classy response that does NOT mention the patient’s case. Maybe you can mention the personal and caring aspect of your practice but unfortunately, you can not make everyone happy but you strive to do the best you can.
- Try to have the ratings site take it down. This is a long shot.
- Lastly, “Let it go, Indiana.”
Remember, you will forget this idiot patient after a while. Hopefully, you will now think twice about who you take on and who you should fire. Fire? Yes! Prune your tree of those patients who are making you insane. Your health comes first. I tell you how to PERFECTLY do that in my book mentioned above.
Please leave some comments here if you have any other ideas on the subject.