These tips will change the way you talk about procedures with your patients
Because so much of aesthetic surgery is elective in nature, surgeons worry that the conversations required to add fail-safes into their operations might scare off potential patients, that too much time spent lingering on potential complications will reduce or even eliminate a patient’s desire to have a particular procedure. While this thinking may, at first glance, seem intuitive, it is ultimately detrimental to the doctor and the patient. Here are some tips to help combat this mentality in your own practice.
Ask the patient about their concerns.
It may seem simple, but many doctors lose sight of this easy entry-point into the preventative action conversation. Patients today are more informed than ever, and they are often aware of common complications from popular aesthetic procedures. Asking this simple question can open up the door to discussing what you can and will do to reduce the risks (both real and perceived) involved their treatment.
Prepare a list of FAQ’s for your practice
The list of questions can range from the universal (e.g. questions about recovery time) to the very specific (questions about a particular procedure that you have specialized in), the important thing is that this list becomes a conversation starter and creates opportunities for you to showcase the time and effort you and your staff put into making sure that your patients have a safe, positive experience with your practice.
Extra Credit: Use an app like Doctella to give your patients a mobile checklist of FAQ’s to go over.
Focus on the positive.
You’ve spent countless hours contemplating how best to keep your patients safe before, during, and long after their procedure. Show that off. Spend time talking about what you do to prevent their fears from becoming reality, and share real numbers about how effective these measures are. Of course, no effort is 100% effective, and you should never make promises you can’t keep, but a factual evaluation of preventative action can do a lot to put a patient at ease.
With these three tips, you’re three steps closer to having the conversations with your patients that will open your practice up to implementing industry-leading preventative action through advanced materials and other surgical innovations.