Just like patients are increasingly turning to online eyewear retailers like Warby Parker for prescription eyeglasses, contact lens wearers are being lured by low prices and convenience to buy online. Read More
We’ve discussed before the importance of your practice’s website. It is usually the first stop for patients, especially younger ones, when looking for a doctor: 88 percent of patients under age 40 said in a recent survey that they will choose their next provider based on the provider’s online presence. And, patients are using doctors’ websites for more than just choosing a doctor. Increasingly, they expect to be able to schedule appointments, pay their bills, communicate with their providers, and access patient education resources on doctors’ sites. Read More
Why is it that you can now scan and pay for your groceries while you shop, schedule a massage online, and deposit a check via smartphone, but in many doctors’ offices patients are still handed a clipboard to fill out paper forms and a stack of dull pamphlets to read? Health care is notorious for being behind the times when it comes to technology. And yet, there are proven benefits to adopting the right tools and software, for your patients and your practice.Read More
Tense situations and difficult doctor-patient encounters are, unfortunately, not uncommon in health care settings. When patients who are afraid or frustrated interact with medical providers who are tired, overworked, or burned out, the outcome can be unpleasant—and can even lead to malpractice lawsuits or violence. It’s imperative that doctors and staff learn to manage common situations that can arise in any practice. Here are a few examples, from mild to serious, that can frequently occur between doctors and patients. Read More
In a previous post, we discussed the Enneagram, a popular self-assessment tool along the lines of the Myers-Briggs test. By answering questions related to your behavior in certain situations and the motivations behind it, the Enneagram classifies you as one of nine “types.” Check out our last post or The Enneagram Institute web site for descriptions of each type. Read More
Patients are more proactive than ever about researching their treatment options and partnering with their doctors to receive the best care possible. The concept of shared decision making (SDM) in health care has been around for a long time, and so has the practice of using patient decision aids (PDAs) such as educational literature, videos, and interactive tools. Yet it’s only fairly recently that their benefits have been studied. “More than 100 published, randomized trials using PDAs have shown many benefits,” according to the Health Affairs blog. Read More
