I love working with Doctor CEOs. They are smart, and the ones I work with are interested and humble. I used to think doctors were too busy to devote weekly or monthly time to a consultant, but that’s never been the case in my experience.

However, every doctor CEO is missing a piece of wisdom I share with clients in this field. When I explain it, I get a blank stare, then some deep thought continues, and then a, “Okay, I understand.” Or something like that.

Patients Are Customers, Too

That’s it. That’s the advice. It’s so simple yet profound at the same time.

Here’s how I explain this simple concept: when a person is in the exam room with the physician, that person is a patient. Once they step out, they are now customers. Doctors tend to patients, but customers pay the bills, keep the lights on, and make being a physician possible. A doctor can never forget this.

Why does this matter, or does it? We’re trying to remind physicians that they run a business. Yes, they save lives and provide a better quality of life for those they serve. Yet, doctors are still in the business of finding and acquiring customers and treating them as patients. This ongoing activity has to be highly repeatable, which we hope leads to customer delight.

In short, this concept for doctor CEOs is entrepreneurship 101. Is it a (physician) practice or a business? It’s both. That’s why patients have another name: customers.

Let’s Test Your Practice

I believe every team member in a medical practice should answer the questions below and then discuss them at a weekly staff meeting:

Our practice takes the whole medical experience seriously, from becoming a patient to paying for services rendered. Is this mostly or rarely true?
Patients/customers rarely have to wait long in the waiting area before seeing their physician. All appointments always start on time. Are these statements accurate in your practice?
We take this question seriously when a patient leaves the office: If or when the need arises, do you look forward to visiting our office in the future? This question has to be tailored to each physician’s practice. The objective is to obtain immediate feedback from the patient/customer regarding their appointment.
We make it a habit to contact select patients/customers a day or two after their visit to ensure they are doing well and following any prescribed instructions by the physician. Is this mainly true?
Is it generally true that the practice receives a steady supply of new patient/customer referrals from existing customers?

How did your practice score on these questions? Don’t beat yourself up if the results are poor. Your answers should drive improvement in the overall patient/customer experience. When that happens, expect a positive impact on the entire practice, including healthier practice cash flow.

Three More Business Suggestions

Once the five questions above are addressed, here are three more bonus suggestions for the team to address:

Put yourself in the shoes of the patient/customer. What are their biggest fears and frustrations regarding healthcare that you can help them eliminate?
Do a patient/customer walkthrough from the beginning of the appointment to when they leave the clinic or hospital. Does any part of the process need to change to improve the patient/customer experience? Take careful note of delay time in the process.
Conduct a simple face-to-face offboarding discussion with no more than five questions if services require a series of appointments. The purpose of this exercise is to make improvements where needed.

Need some more ideas? Let’s connect.