Good Luck With That Pal!

If you watched the video above, you see what can happen when people say no instead of yes. You can be sure that anyone from United Airlines that was involved in this case, wishes that they had chosen a different path. Some mistakes can't be fixed and the repercussions can be relentless. I'm sure you can think of times when you, or someone else in your practice, made a poor choice when interacting with a patient, or with each other. Sometimes people get too caught up in protocols, rules and guidelines and forget to use their imagination and be creative in solving problems. As we've been working with a staff member to help her develop a better manner of handling phone calls, we've realized that many times people react, rather than respond to what others are saying. On Monday morning, an older woman came into the office and told our front desk assistant that she was here for the summer from Florida and had lost a crown from her front tooth. She said she had gone into an office down the street and they had said they were too booked to see her, and suggested that she try our office. I came up front and looked at her and saw that she was missing crown #9. Now, I don't know about you, but if I was in that condition I'd hope that someone would have compassion for me and help me out. We were also fully scheduled and didn't have an open room right then, but I asked if she'd mind coming back in a few hours. She happily agreed and returned at the agreed upon time. Upon examination she told my boss that her dentist in Florida had told her she needed to replace an adjacent bridge, so she wanted us to do that and incorporate #9 into a new 4 unit bridge. As it happened, a patient that was scheduled for Wednesday had to postpone her treatment and we appointed this lady for that time. We prepped the bridge yesterday and found her to be a wonderful patient. I had to wonder if the dentist in the other office even knew that his front desk assistant had sent away a patient in need, who ended up needing and accepting a bridge, and who happily paid the fee. If only she had thought yes, rather than no. Patients are happier with staff who say yes. Sometimes it seems like it is impossible to say yes, and sometimes there are things you just can't do. You still don't have to say no. If you can find a way to align yourself with the patient, you can still do what you need to do, without a resounding no. For example, a patient came into the office one day very irate because his insurance told him they wouldn't cover perio maintenance for him. He was demanding that we change the code and file for a prophy instead. Our front desk assistant at the time immediately said, "I'm sorry, we can't do that." The patient was now angry, not only at the insurance company, but at our staff member, as well. She wouldn't back down and his face progressed from irritated to ready to blow. I got there before the impending explosion and told him I had overheard and could see why he was annoyed. His anger began to fade and you could see he felt he'd found someone who he might just get somewhere with. Now, I was not going to change the code either, but I was going to help him see that it wasn't the answer. Rather than tell him what I couldn't do, I told him what I would do. I told him I would call his insurance and ask them what we could do to help the patient get coverage for perio maintenace. I then pointed out to him that he had a lot of treatment scheduled. In the end, even if they didn't pay for the perio maintenance, he'd still hit his maximum with the rest of his treatment. By the time he left he was satisfied that his insurance would be handled correctly and that we were on his side. I didn't say yes, but I didn't say no, either. Always look for the yes that is available every time you start thinking you'll have to say no. Be as flexible as you can, and when you do have to enforce rules, you do it as positively as possible. Still determined to stick to your rules, scripts and regulations? Good luck with that, pal!