Patients, Grasshopper

We're all familiar with the traditional approach to healthcare marketing. Board certifications, big photos of the providers looking all serious and ready to find the next procedure that will get them published. Strength and stability and expertise are all important qualities, but there are some fundamentals that seem to be consistently missed in most healthcare marketing.

1. DON'T MARKET TO YOURSELF
The majority of healthcare marketing is done from the providers' point of view. Qualifications, looking serious, etc., all of these are internal-facing and have much more meaning to the providers than to the patients. From a patient's point of view, there are assumptions that a provider is qualified to perform the procedures they're promoting. Patients have two goals—to get better, and to be heard. That leads us to...

2. WHAT DOES YOUR PATIENT EXPERIENCE?
Here's a good little trick. Have a friend or a family member go through your patients' process. It's better if that person has a different last name and is unknown to staff. What is their experience? How long does it take to get an appointment? How long do they wait in the first waiting room? In the second? What is the lab experience like? How long does it take to get results? What is the process patients encounter when they receive their results? Remember that you're not doing this in a punitive way—don't look for poor performance by staff. If you find it, of course, address it. The goal is to experience what your patients, what your customers, are experiencing. At most levels, healthcare is tremendously competitive. The only point where it isn't comes from very specific specialists who are either the best in their field, or are alone in their market. For most providers, there are at least two other major competitors, sometimes much more. The ACA has or will open up an enormous market for new patients. These are people who have either never entered the healthcare system, or have used an ER as their primary care provider. In a competitive marketplace, a provider group that addresses wait times, customer service and simple friendliness will have the edge.

3. WHERE ARE THE BOTTLENECKS?
After receiving the data from your trusted source(s), analyze it. Can you accommodate new patients within a 48 hour timeframe? Do patients wait longer than 15 minutes past their appointment time? Remember that the wait time isn't just calculated in the main waiting area. Patients who have an appointment at 10am and aren't seen by a provider until 11, 11:30 will view the waiting period in its entirety. Rightly so. How long does it take to get test results? How long does it take to provide those results to the customer? There are always extenuating circumstances. Providers are busy. There is a shortage of doctors. And being a healthcare provider means tedious hours of paperwork. But from the patients' point of view, waiting for an hour or more after their appointment time is part of the problem.

4. WHAT IS YOUR CUSTOMER LOOKING FOR?
Most patients are taking time out of their own busy lives to come to you. Unless it's a routine physical, they're not coming to see you because they want to—they're coming to see you because they have to. Primary care physicians in particular are the traffic cops of the healthcare system. Much like triage in an emergency situation, primary care will lead to more specialized services. Patients are often scared and confused. The more complexity their symptoms present, the more doctor visits they'll need to endure. Let's face it—a doctor visit is not usually a happy occasion. A patient is looking for comfort, reassurance and most importantly, information. The entire patient care chain, from the initial appointment setting to the final referral, is part of the same experience for your patient. Clearly understanding their concerns goes far beyond being board certified. It requires a human touch.

5. FIX YOUR BOTTLENECKS, AND THEN PROMOTE IT
Putting the patient experience first is often a paradigm shift for a healthcare provider group. Doing so starts from the ground up, and from the top down. Respecting a patients' time, being clear and concise in your explanations, and then clearly explaining the next steps required provide the patient with a level of trust that no amount of letters beside your name can do. You may not be able to provide a 15 minute appointment guarantee. Logistics may not allow it. But promote it. Work as a team to ensure everything moves smoothly, and when the wait time exceeds 15 minutes, give your customers something. A gift card to Starbucks is a valuable commodity. A 15 minute guarantee will draw new patients from the large pool that now exists, let them know you understand their experience, and providing gift cards will offset any unforeseen circumstances. Starbucks gift cards can be personalized with your branding. People will do a great deal for very little. By providing some token as compensation for their wait, you let them know you get it. The patient experience is rough. To the patient, it's not a job. It's their life.

I've seen the healthcare process from both sides. I've worked with providers of all disciplines to help identify and correct issues. I've been a patient, waiting for hours in consecutively smaller waiting rooms. I've read old magazines, listened to piped-in Muzak and wondered why I scrambled to make an appointment time that was completely unrealistic.

Healthcare providers are providing a service. They have customers, just like any consumer business. The regulations and reimbursements and paperwork are intense, but other industries have similar challenges. Hospital groups and provider groups continue to grow and expand. The competition is intense. A group that decides the patient experience is more important than anything else will win. That fact has been proven again and again.

Your competition will continue touting their certifications and promote their latest machinery. If your message is simply, "we will see you within 15 minutes of your appointment time, or you receive a gift card", you will rise above. Patients are consumers, whether they or you are aware of it. Provide a consistently negative experience and your patients will walk away. But provide a sensitive, timely and positive experience, and you will reap the benefits.