[맥킨지 칼럼] Signs of a ‘Sick Practice’ - 2편
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[맥킨지 칼럼] Signs of a ‘Sick Practice’ - 2편
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  • 승인 2012.11.29 16:23
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‘병들어가는’ 병원의 신호들(2) By Sally McKenzie, CEO

Last week, I shared with you the story of my friend whose experience with her long-time dentist is prompting her to seek a new doctor. The reason: She doesn’t think he wants to do dentistry. Let me recap her situation. She is frustrated because the office is open only three days a week. The office manager insists on six-month scheduling for patients. Yet it is clear that the practice has a serious problem with cancellations and no-shows. The manager is inflexible, and frankly, rude to patients that must reschedule or cancel at the last minute.

 The doctor, who is in his 60s, is extremely conservative in his treatment planning. His three-day-a-week schedule is riddled with openings. Yet, my friend had to practically beg him to address the cosmetic issues she had lived with for years and was finally prepared to invest in. He recommended six anterior crowns for the patient and floated the possibility of whitening as well as adult ortho. My friend was excited about the potential. But clearly, this would be a significant investment, and she wanted more information. The assistant promised her that the office would call to schedule a treatment consultation visit in which the doctor would thoroughly explain his recommendations.

The patient waited for FIVE weeks, yet heard nothing from the practice. Finally, she picked up the phone and called them. The manager explained that the doctor still had her file on his desk, but would recommend she come in to get a current set of X-rays. The office manager told her that the office could see her within the next day or two for the X-rays. No treatment plan. No consultation with the doctor about his recommendations, just X-rays. My friend was stunned, to say the least.

After five weeks, she may well have begun treatment - but there her record sat, on the doctor’s desk. Obviously, she was interested in pursuing the recommended plan. But now she is sincerely concerned that this practice simply does not value her or her business. She’s looking at a sizeable investment, one that the car dealer down the road would be thrilled to have and would likely treat her far better than she’s been treated by this practice. So I wasn’t surprised when she asked me a very pointed question, “Sally, do dental practices make so much money that they really don’t need patients like me to invest $12,000-$14,000 in dental care?”
 
We get calls daily from practices just like this. The doctors and staff are totally baffled as to why they are not producing more. This is the perfect example of how a “sick practice” cannot diagnose its own problems, let alone address them.

As I noted last week, this practice suffers from numerous issues. This doctor is likely uncomfortable with treatment presentation. We know that he is extremely conservative in his diagnoses and treatment recommendations. My friend may perceive that he doesn’t “want” to do the dentistry, and he may well lack the confidence in his skills. Therefore, he sabotages the treatment plan, or in this case, does everything he can to simply avoid it. Compound that with inconvenient hours and an office manager who insists on doing things “her way” - which is a clear indication that she has likely never received professional training. She has probably taught herself everything she thinks she needs to know, and thus created her own little fiefdom.  

Customer service does not exist in this practice. There are clearly no systems in which the office is following up with patients regarding treatment plans. There is no established treatment plan presentation system. In this case, the doctor informally chatted with the patient about possibilities. In turn, the patient was ready to make a sizable investment in treatment. All she wanted was more information. Yet she found it virtually impossible to get the details she needed to proceed. Is it any wonder, this patient perceives that either the doctor doesn’t want to do the dentistry or the practice doesn’t need patients like her.
My advice to her: Find a new dentist. My advice to practices that simply cannot understand why they are struggling: Seek outside help to identify the weaknesses in the operations that are keeping the practice from achieving its full potential.

-

 

Sally McKenzie, CEO
McKenzie Management
Success Proven Dental
Management Solutions
sallymck@mckenziemgmt.com

 

 

Essence :
‘병들어가는’ 병원의 신호들(2)


지난주 자신이 다니는 치과에 만족하지 못하는 친구의 예를 들었다. 상황은 이렇다. 환자는 치과에서 제대로 된 고객 대접을 받지 못하고 있다는 느낌을 가지고 있다. 즉, 병원 진료는 일주일 중 3일만 실시한다. 환자가 불편함을 느끼는 것은 당연하다. 예약 역시 6개월이 필요했다. 환자관리가 제대로 이루어지지 않아 취소와 부도율이 높았다. 병원운영은 전체적으로 고객중심이 아니라 의사와 실장의 관점이었다.

의사는 60대로 치료계획 수립에 매우 보수적이었다. 주로 충치치료에만 집중할 뿐 더 이상 환자가 원하는 치료방식을 제시하지 못했다. 환자가 원하는 것은 심미치료. 환자는 수 년간 이런 치료를 염두에 두고 이제 투자할 마음을 먹고 있었다. 그러나 환자가 기대한 자세한 치료계획과 실행은 이루어지지 못했다.

기다리다 지친 환자는 이제 자신은 그 병원에서 더 이상 신경쓰지 않는 고객이라고 느낀다. 환자의 서운한 입장과 감정.


맥킨지는 환자에게 권한다. “즉시 병원을 바꾸라! 당신을 고객으로 대하고 즉시 실행하지 않는 병원은 의미가 없다.” 아울러 맥킨지는 병원에도 메시지를 전한다. 즉, 이 병원은 ‘병들어가는’ 근본적인 원인을 스스로 진단하고 개선할 여지가 없는 상태다.

개혁을 하지 않는 한 소생의 기미가 없다. 병원이 가진 문제점 중 가장 중요한 핵심은 환자중심의 시스템 구축이 결여되어 있는 점이다. 병원 역시 자체적인 병을 진단하고 개선할 여지가 없다. 즉시 외부 전문가의 도움을 받아 잠재력과 역량이 강한 병원조직으로 다시 태어나야 한다.


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