A Genuine Patient Greeting Makes All the Difference

It is an irony of modern life that we have so many ways to be connected now—cell phones, email, text and instant messages—that we sometimes forget the power of basic face-to-face human connections.

This is why it's so important to organize your practice to greet patients who arrive for appointments in a truly personal way. If your practice is like most, the greeting process follows a typical routine. The patient announces their arrival at the front desk and is asked to take a seat.

 

Eventually, a team member emerges in a doorway to the reception area and calls out a name, looking for a response from among those waiting. The patient acknowledges upon hearing their name and is told, "Come this way, please."

It's a perfectly efficient system, but how personal is it?

Even if your staff is warm and welcoming—as most dental teams are—the choreography in this scenario puts a psychological and physical distance between your team and the patient. The patient's first contact is with someone behind a counter. Their name is called out, which indicates that you don't recognize them. And then they are summoned to get up and come to you.

Imagine how cool it would be for a patient to encounter a slightly different but more genuine personal greeting. This type of greeting is easy to accomplish. For instance, if it's a new patient I suggest that the front desk person get out from behind the desk, shake the patient's hand and welcome them eye-to-eye with no barrier in between.

With each subsequent visit the hygienist, assistant, or treatment coordinator should go right out into the reception area and greet the patient by name. They should also ask how they're doing and escort them back to the operatory. If the team member doing the greeting is not sure, they should be able to refer to a photograph in the patient's file, or consult with the front desk person who did the seating.

Patients may not be able to put their finger on what it is that sets your practice apart; it's just a feeling they get. This is one of those subtle, simple touches that goes a long way to creating that feeling.