By Amir Khoshnevis, OD 
Over the past few months, I’ve started doing something I abandoned years ago. I decided to call patients. Not all patients, of course, but those I felt would benefit from hearing from their doctor. These patients range from those who have recently had eye surgery or an acute eye problem to those who seemed less than pleased with their visit to our office. You see, I realized (once again) that we are in the business of trust. We may provide eyecare and eyewear, but we build relationships (that drive the entire system) through establishing trust.
My first employer (an OD) asked me to call surgical patients on the night of the procedure to “just check in on them.” He felt it was a great way to solidify my role as the primary eyecare physician, especially if the patient was referred out of the practice for the procedure, while showing the patient I cared about their well being and vision. He was right. My patients truly appreciated the call and often said “no doctor has ever done that!”
As my schedule ballooned with patients and practice management became a daily pastime, I stopped making the calls. I justified it the same way I now justify not attending networking and community events: “I have plenty of patients and enough work to do!” Note: I’ve always said optometry is a great profession because I can be successful despite myself; this is a perfect example of this type of hubris.
But over the years, I started noticing an interesting phenomenon. No matter the extent of the concern, after a personal call or conversation with a patient, I would usually achieve a positive outcome. I don’t think it has much to do with my killer charm (though I like to claim it does) or the fact that I own the practice. I truly believe it has everything to do with the patient’s perception of doctors being compassionate problem solvers. We’ve earned that trust by vowing to take care of them. So, if you’re given this powerful gift of trust, and it can bring you success without much effort and business acumen, shouldn’t you cultivate it and make it a significant business focus? Should you not go beyond the norm to show people you care when they are in need, or in pain, in order to validate and solidify your position as their trusted eye doctor?
You want to grow your practice in 2013? Make the call.
I’d love to hear from you regarding ways you actively earn and maintain trust with your patient base. Are you doing anything simple yet effective to make your patients aware of your practice culture of caring beyond the exam lane?
Amir Khoshnevis, OD, founded Carolina Family Eye Care in 2003. He is a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and is a Vision Source Administrator. Dr. Khoshnevis serves as a Professional Development Consultant for Alcon and lectures nationally on practice management topics. He also serves as a national committee member for Optometry Giving Sight, an organization he wishes to promote in his bio (humor never hurts). To contact him: drk@carolinafamilyeyecare.com.
