Getting an angry patient to calm down when they are standing in front of you is hard enough, but doing it over the phone takes even more specialized skills.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to assume that your team has the necessary skills to deescalate difficult patient phone calls. When an angry patient calls your practice, your staff has just seconds to defuse the situation. If not, you could lose the patient forever.
Angry Patient Phone Solutions
When angry patient phone calls are NOT handled correctly, it’s a given that your patient retention will suffer. In addition to this, if your staff does not have the right skills to defuse angry patient phone calls, you’ll also see a high staff turnover, which is costly and chaotic for your practice.
Every single person who answers the phone at your practice must be trained on how to quickly disarm even the angriest patient. This is where healthcare management consultant Merikay Hunt, MS, can help. On Tuesday, May 14th at 1:00 pm ET, Merikay will walk you through her proven phone de-escalation program step-by-step. This program will help your entire team gain the necessary skills to deescalate even the angriest patient over the phone – every time.
Here are just a few of the expert strategies Merikay will share about how to defuse angry patients who call your practice:
- Listen for the warning signs that a patient is about to lose their temper
- Develop a script that gets your team to overcome any angry patient
- Avoid the key triggers that can escalate a patient’s anger
- Pinpoint when it’s time to talk vs. when you should simply listen
- Identify 5 essential phrases that can instantly reverse a patient’s anger
- Recognize when a call should escalate to a manager
- Differentiate “active listening” from “reflective listening” to master empathy
- Dig down to identify what angry patients really want to resolve issues faster
- Recognize the difference between anxiety and anger for better outcomes
- And much, much more…!
Patient Retention: More than a third of patients surveyed recently said they’d avoid a practice based on a negative telephone interaction, and your practice certainly can’t afford to lose 30% of its patients. This online training can help.
Calm Angry Patients Fast
It does really matter why your patient is upset. To resolve the situation, your team must use a combination of listening skills, empathy, kindness, and firmness to calm the caller. Tilting too far in any one direction can quickly allow the phone call to spin out of control.
The skills your staff will master by attending Merikay’s online training will lead to happier patients, fewer patient outbursts and long-term expert-trained staff. Register for this 60-minute online training today to ensure your practice is ready to resolve these sensitive phone interactions with angry patients.
Merikay Hunt is the Founder and President of MKay Companies, LLC, a healthcare consulting firm. She has over 25 years of experience in healthcare management, customer service, communications, and professional coaching. Merikay has helped hundreds of US dental and medical practices by providing executive coaching, team development, and elevated patient and employee communications.
Merikay began her career at a dentistry practice as a Dental Assistant, Receptionist, and Office Manager. She was then the Director of Patient and Family Experience for High Point Regional Health System. During her work experiences, Merikay expanded and refined her communication and training skills and knew she could utilize her abilities to help practices across the United States. Initially, Merikay worked as a healthcare consultant with HCI – EBS, Inc. in Greensboro, NC, and then, in 2007, she launched her own healthcare consulting business, MKay Companies, LLC.
Additionally, Merikay is certified to provide Dale Carnegie Training in professional leadership and communication.
