Here are four upgrades for optimizing waiting rooms at orthopedic practices.
1. Identify physicians services through plaques and videos. Patients who come to your practice for joint replacement might have a great experience, but they'll go elsewhere for their spine surgery or ankle care because they don't know physicians at your practice can treat those conditions. Hanging a plaque in the waiting room that includes each physician's certification is a relatively inexpensive way to communicate the diverse range of conditions practice physicians treat. Patients will also remember these conditions when their friends need orthopedic care. "The patient might come to the practice for their shoulder, but their friend might need a knee replacement and they'll remember to send them to your practice," says Peter Althausen, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Reno Orthopaedic Clinic and chairman of the board of directors of The Orthopaedic Implant Company.
Compile five minute video clips from all of the practice physicians discussing their subspecialty and the latest technology in their field. Spine surgeons can talk about minimally invasive procedures while knee surgeons might talk about new techniques for joint replacement. "If you're going to spend money on marketing, the most important place to do that, at first, is in the waiting room," says Dr. Althausen.
2. Collect co-pay before the visit. Use the time when patients are in the waiting room before a visit to secure a co-pay, says Kevin Weinstein, vice president of marketing for ZirMed, a billing solutions, patient collection solutions and revenue cycle management company, instead of waiting until after the visit. "Before the visit is when patients have the most time and the staff is less rushed," he says. You can also collect credit card information and authorization during the time before the visit. If you already have this information, make sure the patient is aware of and has signed any new policy statements.
3. Promote the website in the office. Practices should have information about the website available in the office waiting room and physicians should encourage their patients to explore the website after each visit. Driving patients to the website will increase the practice's exposure and give patients another way to interact with the practice. Patients who have a good experience with the practice's website are likely to remember it for the future. "You can't just build the website and have it work," says Ted Epstein, Director of Sales at Medical Web Experts. "You have to promote it in the office."
You can also include computer stations in the waiting room that allow patients to view the practice website while they wait for their visit.
4. Keep the area comfortable for the best patient experience. Appearance is very important for practices, especially when patients have a choice among many practices in the community. The practice should be clean and aesthetically pleasing, says Bal Raj, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Beverly Hills (Calif.) Orthopedic Institute. "My clinic treats all of its patients as if we were a hotel," he says. "The office is clean and has a high-end feel. The first five minutes in the clinic leaves a lasting impression on the patients."
1. Identify physicians services through plaques and videos. Patients who come to your practice for joint replacement might have a great experience, but they'll go elsewhere for their spine surgery or ankle care because they don't know physicians at your practice can treat those conditions. Hanging a plaque in the waiting room that includes each physician's certification is a relatively inexpensive way to communicate the diverse range of conditions practice physicians treat. Patients will also remember these conditions when their friends need orthopedic care. "The patient might come to the practice for their shoulder, but their friend might need a knee replacement and they'll remember to send them to your practice," says Peter Althausen, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Reno Orthopaedic Clinic and chairman of the board of directors of The Orthopaedic Implant Company.
Compile five minute video clips from all of the practice physicians discussing their subspecialty and the latest technology in their field. Spine surgeons can talk about minimally invasive procedures while knee surgeons might talk about new techniques for joint replacement. "If you're going to spend money on marketing, the most important place to do that, at first, is in the waiting room," says Dr. Althausen.
2. Collect co-pay before the visit. Use the time when patients are in the waiting room before a visit to secure a co-pay, says Kevin Weinstein, vice president of marketing for ZirMed, a billing solutions, patient collection solutions and revenue cycle management company, instead of waiting until after the visit. "Before the visit is when patients have the most time and the staff is less rushed," he says. You can also collect credit card information and authorization during the time before the visit. If you already have this information, make sure the patient is aware of and has signed any new policy statements.
3. Promote the website in the office. Practices should have information about the website available in the office waiting room and physicians should encourage their patients to explore the website after each visit. Driving patients to the website will increase the practice's exposure and give patients another way to interact with the practice. Patients who have a good experience with the practice's website are likely to remember it for the future. "You can't just build the website and have it work," says Ted Epstein, Director of Sales at Medical Web Experts. "You have to promote it in the office."
You can also include computer stations in the waiting room that allow patients to view the practice website while they wait for their visit.
4. Keep the area comfortable for the best patient experience. Appearance is very important for practices, especially when patients have a choice among many practices in the community. The practice should be clean and aesthetically pleasing, says Bal Raj, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Beverly Hills (Calif.) Orthopedic Institute. "My clinic treats all of its patients as if we were a hotel," he says. "The office is clean and has a high-end feel. The first five minutes in the clinic leaves a lasting impression on the patients."