What Not to Do When a Patient Visit is Ending by Susan Keane Baker
Many organizations wisely place emphasis on helping patients feel welcome when they arrive for a medical visit. The same communication skills can be helpful in making sure that the patient leaves on an up-note. You can prevent YOYO (your on your own) syndrome by:
Not looking at your watch until you are out of the patient's sight. Don't leave the patient thinking that you might have spent more time if you weren't so concerned about the time.
Forcing yourself to slow down. When a patient feels that everyone is too busy to acknowledge his/her departure, the impression of the entire visit experience changes. Remember to make eye contact and smile.
Acknowledging the patient. If the person responsible for discharging the patient doesn't know him/her, the caregiver should take time to introduce them. Patients should not be asked "What is your name?" because it feels too much like "Who are you and why were you here?" If it isn't possible for personal introductions to be made, give the patient something with his/her name on it to hand to the discharge/check-out professional. That makes it easy for that person to say "Oh, Mrs. Brady, I see that your next appointment should be scheduled for six weeks."
Saying: "Thank you for coming in today." Or "Thank you for choosing us." Or "Thank you for letting me take care of you today." You would think this would go without saying, but pay attention when you see patient visits ending and measure for yourself.
If your front entrance is also your smoking dock, find another area for employees to smoke. Exiting via a smoking dock is not fun, and patients often see and hear things they shouldn't in that environment.
Making your exit doors patient-friendly. If you have a door that slams, fix it. If you have a door that is too heavy for sick or frail patients to open with ease, replace it. If patients have trouble finding the exit, invest in signage or paint to make the exit stand out.
Follow-up within seven days. A phone call, note, patient education material, or information on a topic the patient expressed interest about. Any of these techniques assure patients that they are not on their own, but that you want the relationship to continue.
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