If you’re a medical professional, it’s important that your patients trust you. Patients need to have trust in their care providers if they’re going to feel comfortable discussing their health, particularly if their problems are sensitive or embarrassing. By providing better service, you can help your patients feel more confident in your care and better able to share their concerns with you.
Ask Patients Questions To Improve Their Experience
It’s important to make your patients feel as though they are being listened to and taken seriously. They need to feel as though they have choices when it comes to their own. One of the best ways to make them feel in control is to ask them questions and listen to their answers.
Before doing anything, ask your patients. It’s good practice to do this, and not to assume that you have their consent to carry out checks, prescribe medicines, or examine them. Taking the time to ask questions and ask permission can slow your examinations down slightly, but it will make your patients feel more confident. It also helps to give your patients a calm explanation of whatever you’re doing.
Answer Your Patient’s Concerns Directly
Many doctors dread patients coming in armed with information from the internet, but unfortunately, it’s just part of the job now. People will research before they come in, and there’s not much that can be done to change that. Instead of finding it irritating, try to understand why patients do this. They’re worried about their health and are looking for answers and to better understand what you’re telling them. If they tell you about what they read online, they’re trying to understand or raise a concern, not insult you.
You can correct patients when their information is wrong, but understand that they are just worried about what is happening to them and might carry out their own research.
Offer Additional Useful Information
Patients feel better if they understand what’s going on. Pamphlets, websites, and books can all be used to help patients to understand their situation. Be prepared for all sorts of questions, whether it’s about side effects or what medication refrigerator you use to store vaccines.
Communicate Effectively By Listening Actively
Resist the urge to jump to conclusions based on the information that you already have about your patients. If you do this, you might miss something new that is going on. Make sure you listen to everything that your patient tells you, and ask questions to clarify anything that isn’t clear.
Build Trusted Long-Term Relationships With Patients
If your patient is going to have a positive relationship with you and learn to trust you, they have to feel as though they are being heard, that you understand them, and that they are being treated with respect.
If you follow all the other steps in this article, you can achieve this last suggestion. Patients who feel like a nuisance or like just another name in your appointment book won’t be loyal and will go elsewhere.
