For any business, brand, or company to succeed, they must have a personal relationship with their customers. They must make the customers feel like they matter and that they a crucial part of the company. This same principle applies to healthcare professionals and healthcare companies. A good relationship between an HCP and their patient is key to optimum service and good customer satisfaction. These relationships don’t just happen; they are a result of long-term communication and genuine interest.
As a healthcare professional, showing that you care about your patients goes beyond just treating their illnesses but it also entails getting to know them and what they like. By showing an interest in their personality and personal life, you get to build trust and a positive response from their end.
Building a relationship between doctor and patient might be new to healthcare and would have been overlooked a few years ago, but it is has become paramount to maintaining long term success and increasing financial performance. The majority of healthcare customers and patients are now active online users and this makes traditional means of marketing obsolete.
There are several ways to establish a strong patient-doctor relationship, and some of these include:
- Maintaining a Strong Online Presence
This method is an effective way to nurture and maintain a good relationship with patients and customers. The first step to doing this is putting up a website. Getting your website up and running helps your patients easily find a go-to place for information when they are online.Â
The second step is setting up your social media page. Making use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter help you keep in touch with your patients. Once on these social media platforms, create quality content that connects with your audience and keeps them asking for more, something that communicates your love and care. This should also be conveyed in your online marketing and it will help to keep patients close to you.
- Providing Access to Medical Records
Trust is a huge part of building a good relationship and one of the best ways to do that in the medical field is by granting access to medical records. This can now be done online to make things faster and easier.
A lot of patients just want to have access to their medical records, but traditional methods make this a very tedious process. This makes them lose their trust in healthcare professionals as they feel like their personal records are not in safe hands. Allowing them access to their records allows patients to feel connected to you as they can easily access their records.
- Hold a Physical Appointment
Despite the huge digital movement sweeping the world, physical communication is still unbeaten. Physical communication helps to grow trust and physical relationships. Setting up a meeting with your patients and talking to them about their problems and helping them find solutions will help to grow your relationship.
During these visits, seek to minimize distractions and interruptions. Put your beeper in silent mode during your visit. Close a door if outside noise is a distraction (however, ask your patient’s permission first). Remember, too, that patients can offer great insight into their conditions from what they tell you. So limit the number of times you ask questions or otherwise interrupt when your patients are presenting their chief complaints. Just listen attentively and show empathy.
Having a great relationship with your patients helps you to hold on to them over a long period. They will always want to work with you and be a part of your business and this will, in turn, help your long-term success.
