O CC U PAT I O N A L M E D I C I N E Toward a Happier World: The Art of Patient Service ■ FRANK H. LEONE, MBA, MPH C ustomer service is a trendy theme in virtually every business these days. However, the gap between “woulda, shoulda, coulda” and re- ality is invariably significant. Simply put, the concept of customer service is given universal lip service, but it is rarely incorporated into the fabric of an urgent care clinic. An effective patient service program requires five core ele- ments: planning, training, execution, evaluation, and re- ward/recognition. Planning Your program should have a well-designed plan that addresses train- ing, execution, evaluation and recognition. Unlike a marketing plan, the development of a patient service plan need not be an annual event. Rather, it should be a singular, dynamic document that re- quires updating only as new ideas or policies come to the fore. Include the following in your clinic’s customer service plan: Ⅲ An overview of patient service responsibilities. Where does the proverbial buck stop? Ⅲ An overview of training procedures. How will new employees be trained? Who will conduct the training? How will current employees be refreshed? How will you evaluate the training? Ⅲ An index of patient service protocols. Your staff should embrace these protocols in their daily work to ensure that various constituencies are wowed by your program’s dedication to their needs. Ⅲ An index of how staff is expected to respond to common displays of patient discontent. Ⅲ An overview of patient service evaluation methods. Who will evaluate your performance? How will you ask them? Frank Leone is president and CEO of RYAN Associates and executive director of the National Association of Occupational Health Professionals. Mr. Leone is the author of numerous sales and marketing texts and periodicals, and has considerable experience training medical profes- sionals on sales and marketing techniques. E-mail him at fleone@naohp.com. 34 When will your clinic conduct such evaluations? Training Does your clinic systematically train new employees and period- ically refresh existing staff on basic patient service? Or does your clinic simply assume that staff will say the correct thing or react in the right way? New employees are often asked to absorb your clinic’s patient service ethic via osmosis—by watching their more experienced brethren deal with patients. However, a new employee seldom stands around for long since they are needed on the front lines. Thus, an unprepared new employee is forced to deal with patients right off the bat, creating a likelihood that an issue will come up and be mishandled. Set aside time during every new employee’s first few days so they can study your clinic’s patient service plan. I recommend that the new employee take an oral patient service exam on the last day of their first week in order to appraise their mastery of patient serv- ice protocols. Typical questions might begin with: “How would you respond when...?”, or “What is the standard or benchmark for…?” Existing staff also need to be reminded periodically of the im- portance of maintaining a strong patient service ethic. I recommend quarterly customer service meetings involving all staff. You should: Ⅲ Review protocols added since the last meeting. Ⅲ Review employer and patient evaluations received during the last quarter. Ⅲ Recognize the patient service “moment” of the quarter. Ⅲ Discuss pressing patient service issues as appropriate. Execution To execute a patient service plan at the highest level you should: Ⅲ Hire positive, people-oriented personnel. Ⅲ Set the bar high. Your clinic should go beyond satisfac- tion and strive for the highest possible degree of patient loyalty. JUCM T h e J o u r n a l o f U r g e n t C a r e M e d i c i n e | J u l y/A u g u s t 2 0 0 8 Continued on page 36 w w w. j u c m . c o m