1. Have open body language and good interpersonal skills. Patient satisfaction is about more than good outcomes and if surgeons don’t have excellent interpersonal skills, the patient will often be dissatisfied regardless of the outcome. “Have good bedside manner and make sure you have good people on the phones,” says Peter Althausen, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Reno Orthopaedic Clinic and chairman of the board of directors of The Orthopaedic Implant Company. “We established a code of conduct to make sure patients are treated appropriately.” Surgeons should introduce themselves when they enter the patient’s room, smile at the patient and stand without their arms crossed when engaging in conversation. Use appropriate language to discuss the patient’s treatment and make sure they understand every step of the process. “These things really make patients feel better,” he says.
2. Work with the patient to reach their activity level goals. Patients will appreciate your effort to work with them on a plan toward recovery. Peter Millett, MD, M.Sc., an orthopedic sports medicine physician and shoulder specialist from the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo., says although he makes the recommendations for what the best treatment plan would be to patients, he strives to work with the patient and involve them in the final treatment decision. This can only be achieved by determining what the patient’s goals are from the outset.
“For example, I may see two patients who are in need of rotator cuff surgery,” he says. “But one patient, because of his or her activity level, may need one specific set of treatments, and the other patient may need an entirely different treatment plan because this patient’s activity or sport is different. It’s about individualizing and personalizing the care.”
3. Get meaningful feedback, not just complaints, from patients. Surgeons tend to feel that if a surgery goes well, they have done their job and the entire experience should be positive. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask, according to Marshall Steele, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and founder and CEO of Marshall | Steele. “The concept that ‘no news is good news’ isn’t true here. Many healthcare providers respond only to patient complaints rather than soliciting what I call ‘patient insights.’ An insight is not really a complaint but telling you where you can be better,” he says.
Before Dr. Steele retired from his practice, he invited total joint replacement patients with their families to a luncheon. “I asked them for at least three ideas for improvement. If they failed to provide us this, they would have to pay for lunch,” he says. “This gives them permission to speak. We may get a list of five to 20 areas of improvement, and rarely do they have anything to do with the procedure.” Take what the patients say to heart and implement reasonable changes to improve the patient’s experience.
4. Keep the clinic clean. Appearance is very important for practices, especially when patients have a choice among many practices in the community. The practice should be clean and aesthetically pleasing. “My clinic treats all of its patients as if we were a hotel,” says Bal Raj, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Beverly Hills (Calif.) Orthopedic Institute. “The office is clean and has a high-end feel. The first five minutes in the clinic leaves a lasting impression on the patients.”
5. Offer ancillary services, if possible. Orthopedic practices should include rehabilitative services in their practice by hiring trained specialists. “Rehab in our practice is a very integral part of the service we deliver,” says Rich Battista, MD, president and physician with OAA Orthopaedic Specialists in Allentown, Pa. “It gives us the competitive advantage in the market place to provide exceptional care in terms of the comprehensive non-operative as well as operative and postoperative care. All the rehabilitation specialists are our employees, which gives them ownership over success in the organization.” Offering ancillary services can also increase practice revenue, says Dr. Battista.
