[글로벌]What Makes a Patient Buy into a Treatment Plan?
상태바
[글로벌]What Makes a Patient Buy into a Treatment Plan?
  • 윤미용 기자
  • 승인 2013.04.04 12:11
  • 댓글 0
이 기사를 공유합니다

By Sally McKenzie, CEO

 

Priorities. When your priorities and the patient’s are in sync, treatment acceptance increases exponentially. Why? Because the patient feels that you “get it.” You understand their wants and needs and the patient feels they have control because you have talked to them; you have taken the time to get to know them. There is no pressure. There is no “selling.” You are delivering on the patient’s needs and desires. 

But how do you get to this place in which your priorities and those of your patient are in sync? It begins with taking the time to truly understand the patient, starting with the new patient interview. The most important objective of the new patient interview, which should be conducted by the treatment coordinator, is to gain a clear understanding of what the patient wants.

Additionally, you are carefully building the foundation for what you hope will be a positive, long-term relationship between the staff and the patient. And, perhaps most importantly, you open the door for the patient to have a frank and honest conversation about his/her oral health. You can tailor the questions as you wish, but the patient should feel safe in expressing how they truly feel about their smile.

Here are some examples:
In what way is your smile important to your professional and personal life? Does your smile give you confidence when interacting with people, both personally and professionally?  What, if anything, bothers you about your smile or your oral health in general? If I gave you a magic wand, what would you change about your smile? Do you ever have problems with chewing or with pain in your mouth? Have you ever had a negative experience in a dental office? If so, can you share with me what happened and how it was resolved? On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you place the value of keeping your teeth and oral health in optimum condition?

Understanding the patient’s feelings about the appearance of his/her smile and attitudes toward oral health and dentistry, enables the doctor to walk into the exam much better prepared to quickly establish rapport with this person. Moreover, the doctor knows the patient's specific priorities.

If a patient is unhappy with the appearance of their smile, it's important to give them the opportunity to point out specific areas that they would like to change, explain why, ask questions, and feel that they are beginning to establish a positive relationship with the doctor. In educating the patient about how they might achieve the desired priorities, the doctor can explain the disparity between what the patient has and what the patient wants or needs.

Focus first on addressing the patient's specific need. Build trust and rapport, rather than rattling off a litany of dental needs and concerns. At which time, you explain, you will provide a comprehensive treatment plan. The plan presented to the patient by the doctor should include the number of visits, length of each visit, how that pain will be managed, and how the patient will look upon completion. Throughout the conversation, never lose sight of why the patient is in the chair.

 



Essence : 환자의 속마음… 치과치료 선택의 순간?

환자의 기대치와 치과의사의 우선순위가 일치하는 순간, 치과의사가 자신의 입장을 이해한다고 환자가 느끼는 순간, 진료동의율은 높아진다.
진료를 강권하거나 판매원 같은 분위기는 없어진다. 단지 환자의 니즈와 희망을 전달해 주기만 했을 뿐인데도...
어떻게? 그 시작은 환자를 처음 문진했을 때의 태도와 분위기에서 시작한다. 상담데스크에서 가장 먼저 해야 할 일은 환자가 원하는 것을 정확하게 파악하는 것이다.  

다음과 같은 간단한 질문들을 던져보자:

- 직업이나 일상생활에서 미소가 얼마나 중요하다고 생각하십니까?
- (치아를 드러내놓고) 미소짓는 것이 부담된다면 왜 마음에 걸리나요?
- 마술지팡이가 있다면 어떤 부분을 바꿔드릴까요?
- 씹는데 불편함이나 입안에 아픈 곳은 없나요?
- 치과에서 불편하거나 불쾌했던 기억이 있나요? (만약 있었다면 어떤 사항이었는지, 또 어떻게 극복했는지 듣고 싶네요)
- 치아와 구강건강을 10점 만점기준으로 몇점쯤 될까요?

위와 같은 간단한 몇 가지 질문만으로도 환자의 가슴속 니즈와 희망사항을 도출해 낼수 있을 것이다.
환자의 상태와 희망사항간의 간극을 잘 설명하는 것은 치과의사의 역할이다. 환자와 대화내내 환자가 왜 이 자리에 와 있는지를 망각하지 않는다면 환자의 편이 된 것이다.


댓글삭제
삭제한 댓글은 다시 복구할 수 없습니다.
그래도 삭제하시겠습니까?
댓글 0
댓글쓰기
계정을 선택하시면 로그인·계정인증을 통해
댓글을 남기실 수 있습니다.
기술 트렌드
신기술 신제품