Your patients have more options than ever for their eye care and eyewear needs. Furthermore, the pandemic has fueled a desire for goods and services to be delivered conveniently and, when possible, even remotely. With that in mind, you and your team must deliver an exceptional experience that results in enthusiastic patients who appreciate the unique relationship they have with you and your team and have no motivation to seek other alternatives.

Despite the changing world and increasing competition, you have an asset that the competition is lacking – personal information about your patients. When properly applied, this data can greatly improve the patient experience, the quality of care you provide and your bottom line as well. However, to make the most of this unique advantage, everyone on your team must prepare for each patient (some more than others) before they interact with them. The following are just some examples of information that team members can access in advance to finesse their interaction with upcoming patients.

The timing of this preparation will vary with each practice and/or individual, but preparing ahead by reviewing information in your EHR will result in a win for both your patients and the practice.  

Doctors and techs

• Patient needs extra time to complete testing
• Patient is overdue for testing
• Patient is non-compliant
• Patient frequently has trouble adapting to rx changes
• Patient hobbies, special needs
  

Opticians

• How old is the patient’s eyewear?
• Patient is reluctant to spend for non-covered items
• Patient has needed frequent repairs/adjustments with present eyewear
• Patient does not have prescription sunglasses, backup eyewear, etc
• Patient did not adapt to certain eyewear

Sign in

• Patient has a history of same day cancellations or no-shows
• Verify patient insurance well in advance
• Patient record is lacking necessary forms or information
• Patient often does not respond to confirmation attempts
  

SIgn out

• Patient has a history of collection problems
• Patient has a history of questions/problems with insurance coverage
• Patient prefers to pay large bills with Care Credit
• Special circumstances – another party is responsible for payment, but does not accompany the patient. 
  

Although the above items appear at first to be self-serving for the practice, the reality is that anticipating potential problems/opportunities and planning solutions in advance leads to a better care and a better experience for everyone present in your office on a given day (the patient involved, the other patients and the staff). Make sure that everyone on your team understands and appreciates that having a good day today has a lot to do with how well they prepare in advance.