Your staff matters most to patients who are stuck waiting in your reception area before their appointment, according to Jobson Optical Research’s 2012 Waiting Game report. Some 58.5 percent of respondents say a friendly receptionist is very important while 45.1 percent say comfortable chairs are very important; 45 percent cited comfortable temperature, while 26.2 percent say it is very important to have available reading materials. Some 14.5 percent wanted to have a television to watch, while 10.8 percent feel a children’s play area is very important. Some 7.6 percent cite modern decor as very important while 6.6 percent cite the availability of computers which they can use.
Paying attention to the details of our reception area improves the patient care delivered in the office by getting patients in the right mindset to follow the treatment plans we are going to prescribe for them in our exam rooms and opticals.
In the day-to-day life of a practice, it is very easy to let little things slip. Over time, those little things add up. Then, one day you stop and look at the practice and it has become different than what you’d planned it to be.
Today, we need to stop and look at the practice. Let’s use this Jobson Optical Research’s 2012 Waiting Game report as a checklist for the reception area of the practice. Evaluate the reception area of your practice for each of the areas listed below.
Problem Excellent
Rate the friendliness of your receptionist. 1 2 3 4 5
Rate the temperature comfort of your reception area. 1 2 3 4 5
Rate the reading materials in your reception area. 1 2 3 4 5
Rate the video or TV available in your reception area. 1 2 3 4 5
Rate your children’s area. 1 2 3 4 5
Rate your reception area décor. 1 2 3 4 5
Rate your availability of computers for patient use. 1 2 3 4 5
Rate your availability of internet access for patient use. 1 2 3 4 5
Now add up your score and compare it to the chart below.
35-40 Keep doing what you are doing, but keep your eyes on the areas where you scored lower.
25-35 Create a plan to get better performance in the areas where you scored lower.
< 25 Re-evaluate how you’ve positioned your practice. Discover why your practice scored so low and then, fix the problems.
Today’s action plan is to make sure the reception area is getting your patients in the right mindset to follow the treatment plans we are going to prescribe for them in the exam rooms and opticals.
To purchase this report from Jobson Optical Resarch, visit http://www.jobsonresearch.com/waitinggame.
