When it comes to providing the best patient experience at your oral surgery practice, it’s not what you offer that matters…it’s how patient’s view your offerings. Ask yourself, “What impression is my practice giving off? Are there opportunities to enhance?”
Here are 7 easy to implement ideas that will enhance the patient experience.
Understand Patient Expectations
As an oral surgeon, your primary concern is your patients’ dental care. However, your priorities may not always align with those of your patients. Understanding their goals and concerns is a vital part of managing their expectations. When you do that, you create a positive patient experience.
Taking this extra step to learn about your patients, you’ll be able to fully tailor dental care to meet their needs, and anticipate future treatment plans.
Set the Tone
Once you have a grasp on patient expectations, you are more equipped to anticipate their needs on a practice-level. If you oral surgery practice is primarily focused on pediatric oral surgery, design a fun, kid-friendly environment. If your practice specializes in cosmetic surgery, identify ways you can create more of a spa-like atmosphere.
Make a Strong First Impression
From the time we’re young, we’re told how important it is to make a good first impression. The same applies to your OMS practice. While the waiting area, staff cordiality, and amenities all play a part, the initial first impression happens well before a patient arrives.
A patient’s likely first experience with your oral surgery practice is through your website or a phone call. Being able to address your patients’ needs in that first call is critical. Equally as important, is the follow-up calls and reminders of upcoming appointments. Make your patients feel valued and that they’ll be receiving the best dental care long before they step foot in your office.
Provide an Office Tour
When a patient arrives for the first time at your oral surgery practice, they may be experiencing some form of anxiety. To help ease this, offer a tour of the office. This personal touch of a guided office tour can make a long lasting impression and express transparency. As an added benefit, this can lead to higher patient retention rates and generate referrals.
Educate Your Patients
As new technology enters into oral surgery, wouldn’t it be great to show it off to your patients? According a research study, consumers reported new technology in healthcare as “exciting” compared to providers that do not have new tech.
Don’t just stop at educating your patients on the new technology you’re oral surgery practice is using. Take the time to comprehensively educate them on your diagnosis and treatments plans. An OMS Software, like MaxilloSoft, seamlessly allows for this by providing all pertinent information for the patient to stay informed…and by doing so, helps prevent dental malpractice.
Staff Cohesiveness
Upon first arriving at your oral surgery practice, likely the first interaction a patient will have is with a member of your staff. Fostering a positive employee atmosphere through support and incentives sets the stage for a positive patient experience.
Streamline the Process
Advances in oral surgery practice management software allows for a streamlined and enriched patient experience. OMS Software, like MaxilloSoft, provides streamlined patient intake, diagnosis, treatment plans, insurance verification and billing, and informed consent…all with a few touches on a custom tablet. By using an oral surgery practice management software, it also helps eliminate mistakes and paper waste. Schedule a free demo of MaxilloSoft to see it in action and how it will benefit your oral surgery practice’s efficiency.
Provide the Best Possible Patient Experience Today
Providing an excellent oral surgery patient experience is extremely important to your practice. In the long run, it will help you stand out from your competitors, increase patient retention, and leads to valuable referrals. Don’t let the patient experience fall to the wayside. Give it the attention it deserves, and explore adding a best-in-class oral surgery practice management software to your practice to improve patient experience from the first impression through final treatment.