Patient wait time doesn’t have to be all bad!
No matter how efficient you are, your patients are bound to have several minutes alone in the exam room before the healthcare provider arrives. During this time, you have the ultimate captive audience. This is a great opportunity to educate the patient about the variety of services you offer. Use their time waiting as a chance to market your practice. For instance:
- Exam room posters; have several posters designed and printed that highlight a specific condition you treat or service you provide. Don’t make the mistake of trying to say too much; make each poster about a single message (this is one of those cases where less is more). If you have 6 exam rooms, design 3 posters and print 2 of each. Examples might include:
- Weight loss program
- Treatments for migraines
- Laser skin therapy
- Practice print collateral; have flyers or brochures in the exam room that patients can read while waiting and can take with them. They should cover the array of services you offer, and must be branded with your practice identity. DO NOT rely on collateral supplied by pharma or equipment supply companies that are branded for them. Remember; branding in healthcare is extremely important. You want your patient to remember your brand, not a pharmaceutical company’s brand.
On the day of a visit, patients are hyper-focused on their current condition and will tend to pigeonhole your practice as one who only treats that particular condition. If you don’t want to be viewed as a one-dimensional medical practice, take advantage of your opportunities to communicate your versatility. If you need some ideas of how to fill your waiting room, take a look at some of the products we’ve designed for our customers.
And, as always contact us if you need any help or want to order something!
