Building your medical and dental clinic needs more effort. When dental experts take the plunge to establish a client, they need to be very keen on choosing the building and equipment design.
Like most industries, the office is an important space in clinics where medical professionals burn the midnight oil and chase their dreams. However, a visit to these offices might lead to a lot of emotions, including anxiety and stress.
This is not good for business. As a professional dentist, you might want all your patients to be relaxed and calm during their visits. To help you create a calming and welcoming space, here are some of the things you should do:
- Make Waiting Room Active
Whether you offer infrastructure and activity, patients should be productive. You can make their waiting time look shorter and prevent them from watching the clock.
The best way to achieve this is to provide free Wi-Fi. However, don’t stop at that. If you have enough space in the reception area, consider offering charging stations, communal work tables, or desks.
Most patients usually fail to go to their day jobs just to have their medical appointments. Therefore, offering them Wi-Fi to remain productive relieves stress and shows how you value their time.
- Consider Communication and Show Care
For most patients with dental anxiety, understanding and empathy will go a long way. Taking more time to listen to patients’ concerns and fears will make them feel relaxed, ultimately, and welcome.
Many patients need a clinic to be relaxing when having dental implants, so as a professional dentist, you need to avoid negative phrases and normalize anxious feelings. Your relationship with patients will also be healthier if you encourage them to ask questions and update them during the dental procedure.
- Show Commitment to Patient’s Staff
The global pandemic – coronavirus brought home the importance of open communication. Practices, which demonstrate commitment to patient’s wellbeing and safety through rigorously and clear followed safety protocols witness an increase in loyalty.
Even as the global pandemic ebbs, many patients still want to determine how seriously you take their health. Hence, if you have a checklist and protocol they need to follow, be sure to communicate well and clearly before their medical appointments.
- Avoid Cancellations and No-Shows
Cars get flat tires, children get sick, and important meetings pop up last hours. There is no way you can avoid last-minute cancellations and no-shows. However, making patients feel welcome and comfortable may reduce what is referred to as ‘emotional’ no-shows.
Basically, this when patients cancel their appointments because they are worried or stressed about their upcoming appointments. According to research, these emotional no-shows are more common than many dentists realize.
Partly, it is because patients usually make excuses and hide the real reasons behind their cancellations. By concentrating on your patients’ emotional situation and making their first experience great, you will witness a measurable improvement.
Plus, your staff will see more patients, especially those having orthodontic treatments such as Invisalign. Those patients will be more satisfied and happier with their great experience at the clinic.
The Bottom Line!
Even dental experts with stellar records may not calm their patients with anxiety each time they visit. Anxiety-related to dental care might have nothing to do with your practice.
Rather than that, it will be linked to the patient’s childhood experience, work-case-scenario, and the feeling of losing control. Whichever reason for patients’ anxiety, you have a lot of options at your disposal.