A Day at the Oral Surgeon

On occasion, I have the opportunity to write about medical care from the perspective of a family member. I always find it informative and instructive to see what other providers do. Late last week was one of those times. Over the past couple of weeks, my wife, Melissa, has suffered from increasing tooth pain, and after going to the dentist, she found out she has a couple of impacted wisdom teeth that needed to be removed. After a referral to the oral surgeon, she underwent extraction of her remaining three wisdom teeth this past Friday (number one had been removed about 25 years previously). Overall, her experience was a good one, and this surgeon's office shined, primarily for their service.

Service is an important part of a medical practice that is so often ignored or minimally considered. When it comes to customer service of the best kind, I often think of the boutique or private medical practice, rather than that found at the county or major medical center.

Let's take my wife's oral surgeon as an example. From start to finish, the practice dripped thoughtfulness to the patient's experience. The front office and waiting area were posh, with dark hard wood floors, pleasant lighting, and classy wall art. There was a couch on one side and comfortable individual chairs on the other. A coffee machine and refrigerator with bottled drinks were available for use. A television was wall-mounted, and the staff offered to show a movie for my kids.

The staff was extremely friendly and supportive during the entire experience. Importantly for us, they were accommodating, allowing us to have the initial consultation and procedure on the same day. This was significant, because I had to take the day off from work to take care of the family, and it would have been highly difficult to do this at separate appointments.

My wife waited exactly five minutes to be brought back after completing the paperwork. The doctor was on time, professional, friendly, and competent. It took them no time at all to break down the bill and accept payment prior to doing the procedure. Admittedly, this is almost impossible in an office outside of dentistry, considering the medical insurance structure in the United States.

After completion of the procedure (my wife required general anesthesia), she was brought to a quiet recovery area with a comfortable chair and a very nice recovery nurse. The nurse provided excellent, clear instructions, supported by written versions of those instructions. A prescription was waiting, as well as a "take home bag", which contained the following:

And…yes… 2 movie tickets.

		Tonight's Premier Lecture is Indications for Compounding Medications Chris Burgess, RPh

I know that's a little over the top, but it exemplifies the detailed thought process behind the entire experience.

After my wife's zombification (ie, anesthesia) wore off, she had remarkably little pain and related to me that her experience was positive. She appreciated the thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and caring attitude of the entire staff.

How would this look in a podiatric office? I'll bet some of our readers already have set-ups like this. How about these characteristics for wishful thinking?

Top Customer Service Tips for a Podiatry Office

This list goes on and on, and I'm sure all of you could add another suggestion. I know this isn't the most realistic list, but of all of these, there are two items I've always stuck to, and they've served me well. I do give prescriptions for postop meds before the surgery (to those patients I feel I can trust), and I've always called all of my patients the day after their surgery. I've never had a patient tell me they didn't appreciate my call. On the contrary. I can't say how many times patients told me they'd never had a doctor call them, and I've never received a surprise call from the ER about one of my patients.

There's one last "service" oriented thought that each surgeon can do and that we don't do enough of: find out about the home/support situation for our patients. How many times do we find out in detail about the living environment of a patient (type of house, how many stairs inside and out, where they sleep, how far to the bathroom, etc.) and what kind of support they will have? These are pivotal questions that might not affect your surgery during the case but have significant ramifications postop.

Case in point: taking my wife home from the oral surgeon. It was a bit of a hassle. I had my wife, who was still very sedated from the anesthesia, and two children to take care of. Just getting my wife out of the car and into the house was a challenge. I virtually carried her inside. I had to leave both kids in the car, get my wife situated, and then hurry back out to get them.

Now, I'm a reasonably strong, healthy adult male with a wife who is also strong and able to walk. Imagine what this would have been like if she'd just had reconstructive foot surgery and wasn't able to walk. Imagine still if we were an elderly couple living in an apartment on the second or third floor. All of a sudden that foot surgery just became a major challenge with a high potential for complications. It's no wonder so many patients ask to spend the night in the hospital.

It's never going to be possible to anticipate all of the potential issues, just as it's impossible to create the most expensive office environment. But in patient care, it really is the thought that counts.

Best wishes,

Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Practice Perfect Editor
[email protected]

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