Connecting with Patients
to Enhance Compliance…
Building a Bridge
of Credibility and Trust
Part 2
The Rule of
Decisiveness
by John V. Guiliana, DPM, MS
Hackettstown, New Jersey
In
the last edition of New Docs on the Block, you learned how important
it is to transform yourself from a doctor to a “care giver”. This
transformation builds patient trust and credibility in you and
results in enhanced acceptance and compliance of your proposed
treatment plan.
The first building block
of the bridge to trust and credibility already discussed was
The Rule of Listening. Now its time to review the second
rule…The Rule of Decisiveness.
The
Rule of Decisiveness
Even seasoned practitioners often fail
in this rule. For new practitioners, it’s often even more difficult.
You have been through a
formal medical curriculum of podiatric care that cannot begin to
compare with that of your non podiatric medical community. In your
mind, that training will likely guide you to the best course of
treatment for your patients. Despite this, I often hear doctors
being ambivalent in the verbal presentation of their proposed
treatment plan. Use of words like “I think” and “maybe” often
confuse patients and instill doubt. Conversely, words such as
“critical” and “essential” are words that are decisive and add yet
another building block to the bridge of trust and credibility.
I highly suggest that
early in your career, you write out prepared “scripts” for your most
common presentations. These scripts should be designed for common
conditions such as bunions, heel pain, hammer toes, warts,
description of an orthotic, and ingrown toenails. Carefully craft
these scripts to flow understandably and contain only decisive
language.
Example #1 (weak): “I think
that…uhm…maybe you might need an orthotic for your heel spur”
Example #2
(improved):“It’s essential that we get you into an orthotic for your
heel spur”.
Example #3
(best): “It’s essential that we get you into an orthotic in order to
help resolve your
heel pain”.
“Power
words” should replace all words that convey ambivalence.
Some highly effective power words and phrases include:
There are many more
examples. Write out the scripts and practice them. See how your
patients respond to them.
There are two words that
you should avoid using in your presentations: “never” and always”.
Unfortunately, these two words are often hard to live up to in the
world of medicine.
Millions of ¾ inch drill
bits are manufactured every year in the USA. Do people want ¾ inch
drill bits? NO…they want ¾ inch holes!
In example #3, aside from the decisive
language, also notice how the patient’s “want” is incorporated into
the presentation. What they need might be an orthotic. But what
could the patient really want? A shoe insert?….No! Correct…pain
resolution! A bunion patient may want pain relief as well as more
conventional shoe choices. An ingrown toenail patient may want pain
relief as well as the permanent elimination of the need for self
treatment. A diabetic patient may want to preclude the possibility
of amputation. Be sure to use these “wants’ in your presentations.
With practice, these
power words and phrases will flow naturally. Now is the time to
develop these habits and lay down this building block to your bridge
of trust and credibility.
Stay tuned for the next
building block…The Rule of Association.
| Dr. Guiliana
is a nationally recognized speaker and author on topics
pertaining to medical practice management. He holds a
Master’s in Health Care Management and is a Fellow and
Trustee of the American Academy of Podiatric Practice
Management. He practices in Hackettstown, New Jersey and can
be reached at
John@soshms.com |
