Question: We recently changed our cancellation policy from 24 to 48 hours. How do I handle patients who are angry about this?
Kathy Larson, Organizational Expert: Uh-oh. When people bark at change, it's really a request for more information masquerading as a complaint!
Make sure you have a system in place to respond to all grievances. Support the team member who handles patient issues; she is on the front line and in the line of fire. Review the new policy and make sure she — and all team members — understand the reason you changed the policy. Their buy-in is critical to your success.
Role-play the situation at your morning meeting to build team confidence. If everyone on your team is clear about the policy, you'll be better equipped to deal with an occasional upset and more easily able to accomplish what's best for your patients — keeping an accurate and on-time schedule.
Valerie Williams, Clinical Expert: Being a hygienist, the word "prevention" comes to mind!
Hygienists can be an important link in communication with patients on any policy changes, which can help in avoiding a potential confrontation. A good time to educate the patient on these changes is when he or she is being dismissed from the hygiene operatory during the closing summary. At that time, the hygienist can make the patient aware of any policy changes. Be sure to ask patients if they have any questions, needs, or concerns, and then address these issues before rescheduling. The administrative team will be in a position of reinforcing and following up. The more times patients hear something, the greater the chance they'll understand.
Mary O'Neill, Relationship Expert: First, figure out how to best handle you! Step back (literally), take a deep breath, and notice what's going on. When you are ready, empathize and say, "I can see you're upset, Mrs. Smith, and I'm really sorry about that. How is this a problem for you?"
You don't need to fix it. I repeat: You don't need to fix it! Your job is to listen. Most people simply want to be heard — especially upset people. After hearing them out, a shift usually occurs.
If you're too upset to empathize, be honest. Tell your patients that you value your relationship with them and that you'd like to understand more about their situation. Offer to call them later. Then regroup and refocus. When you're calmer, you'll be in a better position to listen. If nothing ever shifts, ask yourself this: "Is retaining this patient worth losing my sanity?"
Linda O'Grady, Front-Office Expert: When we implemented this very change in a practice I once managed, we didn't experience angry patients because we gave them plenty of advance notice. Remember to inform your patients about this change at the time of scheduling, not when they are trying to cancel. Instead of saying: "We have changed our policy to 48 hours instead of 24 hours," try this: "We've reserved two hours of the doctor's time for your next visit. We now require two business days' notice to change that reserved time."
If patients later called to cancel an appointment without sufficient notice, we simply reminded them of the new policy. Then we let them know that from here on we'd require 48 hours' notice. (We let them off the hook only once!)
Meet our guest, Cynthia Brattesani, DDS:
A 1989 graduate of the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, Dr. Brattesani maintains a private practice in San Francisco, Calif. She is an enthusiastic member of organized dentistry, having held many positions at the local, state, and national levels. In 1996, she was awarded the prestigious ADA Golden Apple New Dentist Leadership Award. She thoroughly enjoys helping new dentists start in private practice. She knows what it means to balance family and professional life thanks to her 5-year-old son, Mark.
Dr. Cynthia Brattesani: Use empathy — a feel-felt-found technique — and emphasize the benefits of this change: "Mrs. Jones, I'm sorry you have a problem with this, and I'm glad you brought it to my attention. We want you to know that other patients have expressed the same feeling. What they have found is that giving us more advance notice of rescheduling an appointment frees up more convenient patient appointment times for patients like you. The two-day notice allows my team to call you days in advance and offer more options."
You could follow up with this: "We know that 4 p.m. is your favorite time, and it happens to be the most popular. If that time becomes available, we can call and offer it to you two full days in advance."
Stew Leonard once said, "A customer who complains is my best friend." When a patient crisis occurs, guide your team to see the crisis as an opportunity to discover a better way. Choose a course of action for the future and learn together.
