Customer Service in Medical Offices
Customer service is an important practice in medical offices today. Communication is an important aspect of customer service. In medical offices, the health professional needs to adopt high standards of communication skills for them to be able to build rapport with their patients. Currently, with the advancement of technology, there are various communication channels that health professionals use to communicate with their patients, colleagues, and health stakeholders. Above all, communication in medical offices is critical as the professionals are required to ensure that patient privacy is adhered to at all times.
Building Rapport
Health professionals need to build rapport with their patients for effective customer service. To do so, the health professional needs to seek the right time and environment. In this case, it is discouraged to approach a patient while they are distracted since it will affect the quality of communication (Ahern, 2019). To offer high-quality customer service, health professionals should always ensure that they have approached their discussion with small issues. The approach plays a significant role in promoting self-disclosure. Not everyone is familiar with self-disclosure while others lack the importance of disclosing how they feel. Approaching the topic from the simplest point makes it easier for patients to explain themselves to health professionals.
Choosing the Right Environment
Health professionals should always consider the environment where communication occurs. For instance, a loud and chaotic environment hinders effective communication in medical offices. Tone and voice contribute to 40% of face-to-face communication (Ahern, 2019). Loud environment also requires the use of a raised voice, which affects effective communication as there are high chances of mishearing crucial information (Ahern, 2019). Another factor to consider is the privacy of the patient’s information. If a health professional intends to ask questions that are considered private, such as the patient’s HIV status for example, they should ensure a more private environment.
The use of technological gadgets such as mobile phones is another crucial factor that a medical professional should always consider. It is unethical to use a mobile phone while communicating with a patient. To avoid this occurrence, where there is a need to use a mobile device, the health professional should ensure that the patient is informed in advance (Friedman, 2017). One particular scenario where the use of a mobile phone may affect effective communication include where a nurse is making rounds and happens to receive a call while they are talking to a patient. This occurrence can distract effective communication between a patient and the nurse.
Dealing with Difficult Conversation
Difficult conversations are common occurrences in medical offices. The best approach is asking open-ended questions, this gives the medical professionals the chance to understand where to start the conversation. It is advisable for health professionals to listen carefully without interruptions. This helps patients building confidence and feeling appreciated. In such a scenario, it is advisable to ask questions after they have finished expressing themselves.
There exists a significant difference between communicating with elderly patients and adult aged patients. Patience is essential while dealing with older patients. It is always advisable to give older patients time to express themselves without showing them signs of impatience or stress (Ahern, 2019). This approach makes them comfortable to talk about their conditions. It reduces the chances of misdiagnosis and wrong medication in elderly patients. Regardless of their age and cognitive abilities, it is important to always show them respect and patience.
Communicating With Elderly Patients
Another factor to consider while dealing with older patients is the language one uses to communicate with them. The use of complicated medical terminologies is discouraged in patient-doctor communication. This approach, in particular communicating with older patients in this difficult language, is detrimental (Ahern, 2019). It does not only prevent them from expressing themselves but also makes them close down on the medical profession which has a negative impact on the quality of care they receive. Repetition is unavoidable while dealing with older patients as they tend to forget easily and understand concepts slowly.
The Group effort approach is essential while dealing with elderly patients. It makes it easier for medical professionals to communicate with patients and make an effective decision regarding the best procedure to offer them. To achieve this, medical professionals need to ensure that they involve the patient family members (Friedman, 2017). To avoid conflict, the medical professional has the mandate to bring the family together and have them appoint one member whom he will be communicating with regarding the patient’s condition.
Communication with Children
Another critical area that medical professionals need to consider in offering exemplary customer service is communication with children. Children are the most vulnerable group of patients that medical professionals have to attend (Ranjan et al., 2015). While dealing with children, health professionals should ensure using a language they can easily understand. To do this one is required to have a mental note of the child’s age. This approach allows a medical professional to develop a language, tone, and speech that will make the children patients comfortable around a medical facility.
Making Children Comfortable
Children are more affected by the use of negative words in a conversation. To promote effective communication with children, one needs to offer them gifts as a form of reassurance for their bravely and resilience (Ranjan et al., 2015). The use of moderate language and a friendly tone plays a significant role in ensuring that children feel more comfortable around a medical office. Again, the use of distractors is an effective method that helps in reducing pain in children. For instance, a child who is about to undergo major surgery is not only nervous but also psychologically affected by the various procedures that they have to undergo. To effectively take care of this situation, a medical professional may decide to bring the child various toys to show that they will do no harm, and the accessories that will be used for the procedure. An explanation of the situation and the procedure to the child and parents will play a significant role in ensuring that the nervousness in the child and parent is reduced.
Team Collaboration
Various studies have shown the importance of communication and team collaboration in enhancing customer service in medical offices. To offer excellent services to their patients, health professionals should establish and enhance collaboration amongst themselves (Ranjan et al., 2015). This will eliminate the notion of autonomy and help in building trust, respect, and promote teamwork in serving patients. Collaboration also plays a significant role in providing quality services to patients. It provides a reliable channel through which information is shared among the medical office teams.
In conclusion, communication skills in a medical office are essential in enhancing and promoting customer service. Health professionals need to establish and implement reliable support and collaboration amongst themselves to improve customer service. Further, to improve customer service in medical offices, communication training should be promoted in medical offices. This approach will play a significant role in enhancing customer service in medical offices.
References
Ahern, G. (2019). Communication skills in healthcare: A Guide to practice. Ausmed.
Friedman, R. (2017). Improving communication between doctor and patient. Psyccritiques, 62(25).
Ranjan, P., Kumari, A., & Chakrawarty, A. (2015). How can doctors improve their communication Skills?. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 9(3), JE01-JE04.