We’ve all heard horror stories about bad experiences at a doctor’s office or some other medical facility. Stories of patients being forgotten in exam rooms for hours, lost files and paperwork, long waits, and a lack of information throughout the whole medical process are far too common. Those of us unfortunate enough to have experienced one of these stories first hand can testify as to how frustrating a visit to a medical facility can become.
A few weeks ago my sister experienced one of these stories firsthand. On a clear North Dakota morning, my sister fell and injured her wrist going down the stairs to her apartment. In fact she had broken her wrist quite badly as it was painfully clear for her to see with a simple look at her wrist. In a trying time such as this my sister did what any single 22 year old young woman would do: she called dad.
My father excused himself from work and quickly drove to her apartment to take her to the emergency room. Now most of us have been to the ER at some point in our lives and will agree that it is not the ideal place to receive medical treatment. Lines can be long, time spent in the waiting rooms even longer, and treatment from the doctor short and hurried. For most of us, this is what we expect from a trip to the ER.
This is in no way intended to take away from the efforts and abilities of those who make emergency rooms possible. These individuals often work under incredible stress with limited resources and a short staff making special attention to the patient difficult if not impossible. And, for the most part, we as patients, family, and friends understand this.
What made my sister’s experience at the ER a horror story was the near two hour wait in the exam room after being seen by the nurse. Before leaving the exam room, the nurse indicated to my sister and my dad that it was a busy morning in the ER and that someone would be in as soon as possible to help her.
The two waited -- my sister in a self-described state of “unbearable” pain, and my father in a state of concern for his daughter, while at the same time irritated that he hadn’t brought his laptop with to get some work done during this seemingly endless wait. After nearly two hours my father’s patience dried up and he resolved to find a nurse and find out what was going on.
He walked down the hallway, located a nurse (the same nurse that had previously assisted my sister), and asked about their situation. The nurse apologized for the long wait and went on to explain that there had been an unusually high number of “sick people”, her term to used to describe individuals who had experienced a heart attack, stroke, or other serious life threatening event and that all ER doctors had been quite busy. She apologized again and repeated that somebody would be in to see my sister as soon as possible.
The problem here was not the amount of time spent in the exam room, but rather the lack of information and uncertainty experienced by my sister and father. The need for a patient to know what is going on and that they have not been forgotten cannot be understated. Most patients are reasonable individuals and will understand an unexpected delay if they are kept abreast of their situation.
In my sister’s situation all she wanted to know was that she was not forgotten and that something would be done about the pain she was in. My sister and father had no way of knowing a large number of “sick people” had been admitted into the hospital while they were waiting. Had they known this, they would have been far less frustrated with their time in the exam room, and my sister may have even taken a little comfort from knowing that in the grand scheme of things her injury was quite minor.
The point here is not to suggest that medical staff must check in with patients every five minutes and let them know that they are not forgotten and will be treated soon. Rather the lesson is that most people are reasonable individuals and will tolerate a longer than expected wait if they are kept informed about their situation.
By keeping patients in the loop and informed about the progress of their visit with your organization when unexpected emergencies or delays arise, you show the patient that you respect them and their time. Attention to this small detail and a thoughtful gesture of keeping the patient informed can have an incredible effect on the experience your patients have with your medical organization.
If you would like to improve the level of customer service provided to patients in your medical organization give us a call today at 1-866-988-RAIN to speak with one of our customer experience creation experts or send an e-mail to info@therainmakergroupinc.com.
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