Whether you work in the retail industry, provide legal advice, or run a medical practice, at some point there will be a complaint. It happens to all of us and a mark of the level of service we provide is how we deal with these often complex issues when they arise.
While most people are personable and easy to get along with, there will be times when, in the course of your medical practice, you will come across someone who is stressed and difficult to deal with. It can be something as simple as having to wait too long for an appointment or a more complex situation involving diagnosis and treatment.
Difficult patients can test the temperament and attitude at the bedside of even the most relaxed doctor and dealing with them and solving their problems can be difficult at the best of times. It’s not just the main doctor who has to deal with these kinds of issues: everyone from the reception staff on up will need to be able to deal with people who have a complaint, whether the complaint is well founded or not.
As a physician dedicated to delivering exceptional patient experiences, one patient at a time, it’s up to you to make a difference and handle those moments of discontent with the care and sensitivity they deserve.
Here are 5 tips for dealing with those tough patient complaints:
1. Focus all your attention on the unhappy patient
The last thing most of us want when we have a complaint is for it to be dismissed without much thought. The responsibility should not lie with reception staff to calm someone down, the complaint should be channeled up to someone with the authority to handle it.
Your first job is to give your unfortunate patient your undivided attention. That means you shouldn’t handle the problem in a crowded waiting room, but rather take them to a quiet place where there are no distractions. Sit them down, listen carefully, and ask relevant questions to get to the bottom of things. Taking this type of action goes a long way to dissipate the anger your patient is feeling and ensures that their complaints are properly aired.
You can run the best practice in the world, but if you have a disgruntled patient whose problem is dismissed on the spur of the moment, they are more likely to walk away in a bad mood, go to their friends and family and tell them how they treated them. Even if the problem is not your doing, offering a solution goes a long way to defuse the situation and prevent it from escalating.
two. Acknowledge your upset and apologize sincerely.
Whether it’s completely justified or not, your patient is upset and feels they’ve been wronged. They want to be seen, heard, and most importantly, understood by someone in authority. Take the problem seriously, acknowledge that there is a problem that needs solving, and try to understand how they feel. Allow the patient to air his complaint, get it all out.
Verbally acknowledging the patient’s problem is key and saying something like “I’m sorry to hear that you have this problem. I can understand how you would feel this way.” It is vital.
3. restoration report
Now that you have acknowledged and apologized, hopefully your difficult patient is in a calmer state and ready to participate more fruitfully. It’s not enough to just apologize, ‘kiss him better’ and send them on their way, you need to work to find a solution to the problem. Let them know that solving the problem is your priority and that you are doing everything you can to solve it yourself. In other words, work with the patient, not against them, to find a win-win solution.
Taking ownership of the problem (even if it’s not your fault) means the patient has someone to turn to if the problem is slow to resolve. That can put a little more pressure on your time as you work to figure things out, but it’s worth the effort if you want to turn around a difficult patient.
Four. Take back control by directing the solution
This is the time to gather all the facts of the complaint and use this to develop a solution based on those facts. This is about exploring the practical aspects of the situation and you need to ask a lot of questions to get to the bottom of the problem.
It is also important to start taking immediate steps to show your disgruntled patient that something can be done. There is also nothing wrong with asking the patient to participate in the search for the solution by asking: “What would you like to see done? What can I do to solve this problem for you? What do you think is a proper and fair solution?”
The key components to solving the problem should include these stages:
Establish a sensible time frame for the issue to be resolved to the patient’s satisfaction.
Ensure that the agreed solution to the problem is carried out in its entirety.
· If you need to involve other staff members, make sure they are fully informed of the problem and know what is expected of them.
· Timely follow-up is vital and you should be sure to contact the patient to find out if they are happy with the resolution.
5. Document interaction with the difficult patient
You don’t need to have this as part of your formal records, but it’s a good idea to document everything about your dealings with the dissatisfied patient. These should be as complete as possible and easy to understand by any third party who may need to see the details if the problem is not resolved to the patient’s satisfaction.
Problematic patients often offer the greatest challenges for physicians and their staff. However, these moments also provide an opportunity to turn a routine practice into an exceptional patient experience that yields superior long-term benefits. The news that you get to the root of any problem, deal with it effectively and sensitively, and provide the right solutions will enhance your reputation. Good news travels, perhaps a little more slowly than bad, but it is implied that you care about your patients and will go the extra mile to solve their problems.