Hi, it's Tina. And I'm here with your one-minute management tip.
Today, I'm going to tell you a story, but it's a true story. I went to my ophthalmologist a while ago and the medical assistant put me in the treatment room and sat me in the chair and did all of the intake. And then she said, "Well, hopefully, the doctor will be with you soon. She's having a computer problem. And I'm not sure when she's going to be in the room. I'll let her know that you're ready though." And I thought, well, that's strange, she's having a computer problem, but the patient's here.
25 minutes later, she walked into the treatment room with her feathers ruffled. You could tell. And I understand having computer problems can be very difficult and very frustrating, but she didn't really care that she was late with me. And it didn't really matter to her that my time mattered to me. So when you're running late and she said, "Oh, I'm sorry for running late. I was having computer problems." That's a real poor substitute for honoring your patient's time. We need to run on time. And if for some reason, there is a delay in seeing that patient in the treatment room, someone needs to step in. They need to apologize. They need to let that patient know how much longer it's going to be an ask them, "Do you still want to wait? I'm so sorry."
We must honor our patients' time, especially now more than ever, because people don't want to be held up places. So remember, when you're not running on time and you just let people know, you know what, "Sorry, we're not running on time." That that's not honoring your patient's time and they will take that to heart. And they just may take their service somewhere else.
So, if you need any tips or ideas on how to run and stay on time, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] or Dr. Peter Wishnie [email protected]. And if you are a member of our Virtual Practice Management Institute, we will direct you to modules that deal with scheduling and running on time and being more efficient in the practice. Well, please take this to heart because your patients do. And take care and stay safe. Bye-bye now.
