From a clinical point of view, every patient deserves the same high quality of service and attention. However, from a business point of view, some patients are more important than others because of their impact on your practice and its reputation.
You’ve probably worked with new patients that tend to be demanding, uncooperative, and very price sensitive despite all the value you provide. These patients can be a financial and emotional drain on your practice.
On the other hand, you have probably treated patients that were a pleasure to work with. These patients recognized the importance of physical therapy, remained compliant throughout the treatment process, and trusted you as the expert. Chances are that these patients never complained about price and service (or anything else for that matter) in your clinic.
There are a few characteristics that separate a high quality patient from a low quality one. These include:
THE ORIGIN OF THE PATIENT
When the patient first came to your clinic, what brought him/her to your clinic in the first place? What was their expectation from you as a clinician and your clinic as an organization? Did the patient hear your praises from another patient who was a raving fan? Did the referring physician give you the highest of recommendations and tell the patient “this physical therapist will take good care of you”. The “pre-frame” with which the patient enters your practice triggers a cascade of events that define the life cycle of that patient and his/her “patient quality score” for your practice.
As they say, the first impression is indeed the last one.
SOCIAL PROOF
As you demonstrate testimonials and success stories from other patients, you condition existing patients to become referral sources. There are several ways to do this; you can have wall frames and pictures of other patients all over the clinic, online videos and audios in which past patients affirm your expertise, and articles/newsletters featuring you as the expert. People tend to ‘follow the herd’. If a patient notices that several individuals in the community have worked with you and have had great success, they will subconsciously start believing in the treatment process with you along with your authority and expertise as a provider. This facilitates the treatment process.
The patients that know you and like you the most are going to be the ones that will provide with the most social proof (i.e. strong testimonials). These are the patients with the highest patient quality score. These patients play a valuable role in raising the overall quality score of your entire patient population.
EVALUATING THE QUALITY SCORE OF YOUR PATIENT
Here is a simple test for you to evaluate the “quality score” of a patient. You can answer yes/maybe/no to each of these questions with a score of 2/1/0 respectively for each answer.
Any score between 8 and 10 is considered a high quality score. A score between 5 and 7 is an average quality score. Any score of 4 and below implies that the patient is unlikely to help you grow your practice.
- Is the patient willing to give you a video or a written testimonial?
- Has the patient referred at least 1 friend/family/coworker to your clinic?
- Has the patient shown an active interest in utilizing other products / services offered at your clinic?
- Has the patient been compliant with the treatment process and responded well to treatment?
- Has the patient praised you publicly inside or outside the clinic and brought you unexpected gifts (cookies / cakes) as gesture of gratitude?
The patient quality score can be improved with a combination of high quality treatment and “future pacing” expectations. This involves the use of precise language to manage the patient’s expectations from physical therapy, encourage responsibility and compliance in the treatment process, and condition the patient to refer friends and family to you. An example of a “future pacing” script would be:
“We look forward to providing you with the same high quality of care that we have provided to hundreds of other patients over the years. When you finally recover and get better, don’t forget to continue with your home exercise program and follow the guidelines we have established for you. We appreciate the fact that you chose to work with us and we value the trust that you (and the entire community) has placed in us. We are never too busy for your referrals; in fact, a referral is the best way for you to thank us. Our goal is to improve the health of as many individuals as possible in our community.”
Understanding and improving the patient quality score is the single most important thing you can do to grow your practice. The high quality score patients are also the ones likely to give you the best testimonials, the subject of the next section.
Speaking of patients, testimonials from them can play a powerful role in your practice, especially when you are trying to set yourself apart from the competition. The best way to get the patient’s (limited) attention with advertising is to make him / her feel you have helped someone ‘just like them’. This is the exact reason why ads on television show ‘everyday’ people reinforcing the benefits of a product or service.
If you are not collecting testimonials in your clinic, it’s something you may want to consider. Please check your state guidelines to make sure the use of testimonials is allowed before implementing the strategies in this section.
THE CRITICAL VALUE OF THE TESTIMONIAL
A patient who is willing to give you a testimonial is the most valuable referral source for your clinic, outside of the referring physician. The harsh reality is that most private practice owners never ask for testimonials and even if they do, the patient is completely neglected after such a testimonial. Patients who give you a testimonial should be appreciated and treated as valuable business assets through regular, frequent contact using email, snail mail, text messaging and phone calls. You want to regularly polish your ‘diamonds in the rough’
THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE CHANGING ‘EMOTION’ IN YOUR TESTIMONIALS
For best results use strong, life-changing testimonials in your marketing. A testimonial like:
“Hi this is Amy from Maryland. I am blessed to work with John. My lower back improved so much after working with John that my life has improved significantly. I can go hiking with my family and am FINALLY able to do the things I could never enjoy before. Go to John’s and Son’s Physical Therapy if you want to change your life, just like I did.”
This is a lot better than most testimonials, which are along these lines:
“John is a good PT, I recommend him” (such testimonials have zero, sometimes negative impact since the reader feels you are like ‘everyone else’)
THE BEST TIME TO ASK FOR A TESTIMONIAL
Most private practice owners wait until discharge, which is a mistake. The patient is already thinking of ‘life after physical therapy’. Do NOT wait until discharge. The best time is immediately after a ‘good’ treatment session, when the benefits of therapy are dominant in the patient’s mind. The longer you wait, the less likely it is that you will get the testimonial. You could take this strategy one step further and ask the patient if they know anyone who might be a good candidate for your services. Once you have a name, phone number and email, you can initiate contact with the prospect.
Now that you’ve decided to ask for a testimonial and you know when to ask for it, the question arises:
“How do you ask for it without appearing desperate or making the patient feel uncomfortable?”
The best script to use to ask for a testimonial is the “Patient Appreciation Formula” script, which is:
“Did you have a good treatment session? (Treatment Reinforcement) Do you realize how much better you are now compared to when you came in?
Great! The best way for you to thank us is by giving us a testimonial, so that other patients can learn more about our services through your experience. Is that fair? (Logical Affirmation –wait for patient to say yes).
You see, as a small business, we do not spend money on advertising, but instead rely on word of mouth referrals from valued patients like yourself. This way, we can reduce marketing expenses and focus more on quality of treatment instead, don’t you agree? (Wait for patient to say yes)
So all I’d like you to do is to step here, tell us about your experience and that’s it! While you are at it, would you mind filling out this form listing a couple of people you know that might be good candidates for our programs? All it takes is a couple of minutes. (Wait for a couple of minutes)
We’ll offer them a no obligations trial consultation as a way of thanking you for taking the time to do this testimonial. Thank...
