Is your medical practice looking for a way to differentiate from your competitors?
Master the art of handoffs and accountability — both within your own practice and with other physicians throughout your community.
Providers not communicating with each other across and throughout the healthcare system is one of the greatest frustrations patients experience today. Too often, the medical fax or electronic transfer is a black hole, never reaching its intended recipient. And it has a ripple effect, causing increased wait times, delays in testing or treatment, and uncoordinated patient care.
You have a prime opportunity to do better and stand out from the crowd.
Have you sent a patient for diagnostic testing or referred them to another physician? If so, does someone in your office:
- Make sure the referral source has received all of the necessary paperwork and information?
- Provide the patient instructions and anything else they may need for the appointment?
- Follow up to ensure your office has received the results before the patient’s next appointment?
If your patient has other physicians involved in their care, do you proactively offer to share test results with them and ensure they indeed receive them?
I realize this is work, but this is the type of work that helps to ensure patient satisfaction and retention not to mention good, timely, coordinated medical care. Are you up for the challenge?