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Patient Experience: Mistakes Made & Easy Fixes

Plastic surgeon Advisor

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Catherine Maley

I spoke at the Global Aesthetics Conference in Miami  and one of my talks was about the mistakes made with the patient experience.

Studies show that a great patient experience increases loyalty, while a poor experience leads to negative reviews, low retention, and missed referrals and that directly affects your bottom line.

Because cosmetic patients with a credit card have a choice and that comes with expectations. They expect to be treated well, to get great results, and to feel valued throughout the process.

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When you get this right, you not only improve patient satisfaction but also drive loyalty, referrals, and positive reviews.

Here are the common pitfalls in patient experience and simple, actionable fixes that can make the difference between and an OK experience and a WOW experience:

Mistake #1: Bad Phones

The initial phone call sets the tone for the patient’s relationship with you.  Unfortunately, many callers are often met with rushed, transactional responses or long wait times versus a warm, patient, and helpful voice eager to help the caller.

Fix: First, answer the phones within 2 rings. Train your phone staff to make callers feel comfortable by using a warm tone, and actively listen to callers. Script them to professionally ask for the appointment rather than waiting for the patient to ask.

Mistake #2: No Warm-Up Before the Visit

Think about how difficult the initial visit is for cosmetic patients. They are walking into an unfamiliar setting and meeting strangers to discuss altering their appearance. They feel uncomfortable and, most likely, intimidated.

Fix: Send appointment reminders, a welcome video talking about what to expect, and even a “meet the team” introduction beforehand. This warm up builds familiarity, eases nerves, and sets clear expectations, creating a positive foundation before they even enter your practice.

Mistake #3: Lack of Warmth During the Visit

The in office experience can oftentimes feel too transactional, leaving patients feeling like just another appointment rather than a valued guest.

Fix: “The more you care, the more you convert”. Demonstrate care and empathy with simple changes, like creating a comfortable reception area, providing refreshments, and welcoming patients with eye contact and a smile. And, train your staff to ask questions, listen, and use verbal cheerleading to calm patients so they feel reassured.

By the way, rather than have visiting patients go from room to room, set up a combination Exam/Treatment/Consult Room so the patient gets everything they need in one room.

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Mistake #4: One-Way Presentation Style

Many consultations become lectures rather than 2-way conversations. Patients are given information but aren’t encouraged to ask questions or voice concerns.

Fix: Have a normal conversation with patients so they are actively engaged. Ask patients questions so they open up. Listen to their concerns to be sure you understand what they’re saying, and tailor the consultation to their unique needs. This builds rapport and ensures patients feel heard and respected.

Mistake #5: Inconsistent Information

Visiting patients will ask questions to anyone they are in contact with. But receiving conflicting information from different team members about pre and postop instructions, procedure FAQs or special offers is frustrating and damages their trust in you.

Patient Experience

Mistake #6: Waiting!

Credit Card patients think their time is just as valuable as yours and will be frustrated when kept waiting. They are sensitive to waiting since it increases their anxiety, lowers trust, and hurts the relationship.

Fix: Stop overbooking and add buffer times between appointments and communicate real time updates if delays occur. Hand the waiting patient an iPad filled with FAQ procedure videos from the surgeon, before/after photos and patient video stories to at least educate and distract them.

Mistake #7: No Follow-Up

Failing to follow up with patients after their procedures leaves them feeling undervalued and that makes them less likely to return or refer others.

Fix: Implement a follow up protocol that varies by patient type. First time patients should be checked on to ensure they are comfortable with their treatment. Post-op surgical patients can be invited back to help accelerate recovery, and long-time patients can be invited to experience new treatments. This shows you care beyond the transaction and builds the relationship for the long term.

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Brainstorming Exercise

To bring these recommendations to life, have your team do a walk through of a typical patient visit while brainstorming answers to this question:

How can we improve our patient experience, so they leave smiling?

Small, consistent improvements in the patient experience build loyalty, strengthen reputation, and increase practice revenue. 

By addressing these common pitfalls and implementing easy fixes, your practice can move from simply meeting patient expectations to exceeding them creating a more rewarding experience for both patients and your team.

If you think you are losing patients, referrals and revenues from your current processes, let’s find out for sure. Schedule a practice growth strategy review today.

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TESTIMONIALS

Rated 5 out of 5
"Catherine outlined a plan that put key metrics in place, gave us a clear plan to follow throughout the year and trained our staff to increase their conversions by at least 10%. Since engaging with Catherine, I’m happy to report that revenues are up 15% over the last three months - 22% in the last month alone! I highly recommend Catherine’s consulting services to any practice looking for “best practice” additions to their operation."
drsigal 3
Robert Sigal, MD
"I have finally tapped into the most efficient way to grow my cosmetic practice and that is to “fish in the pond of my own patients”. When patients return to my practice, over 85% will purchase another service, product, or procedure. Not only was it worth over $200,000 in revenues this past year, it also reminds my patients I’m still around so they don’t wander off to my competitors. Catherine’s group has far exceeded our expectations and goals we had set up for them to achieve."
Victor Ferrari, MD
Victor Ferrari, MD
"Our consult conversions were running at 40-50%. Then we attended Catherine’s online training and implemented her strategies. They immediately increased conversion rates to 75-80%."
Anthony Corrado, MD
Anthony Corrado, MD
"I know how to run a profitable practice; however, it was not without major staff issues, inefficiencies and unproductive drama. With Catherine's guidance, I reorganized staff, set up processes for them to carry more of the workload and hold them accountable so I have more time to focus on patient care. The changes we put in place and the staff training to convert more callers and consultations will easily increase my revenues by 15% as well as save us time, money and costly mistakes. "
Evan Sorokin, MD
Evan Sorokin, MD
"Working with Catherine and her team has been very profitable. We’re only half way through the year and I’m up $200K and I’m booked out for the next 2 months even though we typically go into our slow summer months now. Her recent promotion brought in an extra $63,782 with more surgeries scheduled. I never realized how much money was sitting in my patient list but I’m a believer now!"
Plastic Surgeon Consulting Services
Robert Langdon, MD
"Catherine Maley has one of the best Marketing Minds in the aesthetic industry, bar none. She understands the aesthetic patient and she also understands the challenges and frustrations we face as aesthetic surgeons. You will benefit from Catherine's tools whether you are new in practice or a seasoned professional.Turn to Catherine for guidance - she knows what she's talking about."
Edwin Williams, MD
Edwin Williams, MD
“Catherine’s Cosmetic Patient Marketing Service has been a great addition to our practice-building overall plan. While we still invest in our online presence, we also found immense value in the internal marketing efforts. We especially like that all results are tracked so we know we are getting a great return ... last year it was 1,148% and no staff time was used. That’s a much easier way to grow my cosmetic practice.”
Mark Mason, MD
Mark Mason, MD
"Catherine Maley turned our practice around. We converted more consultations in one week than we did in an entire month. Our practice went from a painful 50% no show rate to a remarkable 85% show rate. Even more impressive was our close ratio - from 35% to 80% and still increasing. We would recommend her to any practice that’s looking to not only increase their profits today, but sustain a healthy flow of income for many years to come. Thanks Catherine!"
Sam Assassa, MD
Sam Assassa, MD
"Catherine found me the best patient care coordinator I could have asked for. She worked out a payment plan that was fair to me and motivating to my coordinator. She also provided training tools to help my coordinator convert better, even though she was already experienced. The results have been phenomenal. So good, in fact, that my income increased 250% and I’m booked out for 3 months. Don’t waste any more time or money doing it yourself. Outsource to someone you trust!"
Andrew Lofman, MD
Andrew Lofman, MD
"Since we’ve been working with Catherine and her team for the past 5 months, we’ve brought in $79K in surgeries and have booked an additional 17 surgical procedures and 20 non-invasive body procedures since then. This does not include the additional new patient referrals and revenues we are seeing from the on-going nurturing of my current patient database."
Verne Weisberg, MD
Verne Weisberg, MD
"I had given my staff the goal to convert at least $35K per week in surgeries AND I gave them the tools to help which was Catherine’s Online Learning Center at More Patients Academy. They watched Catherine’s modules and implemented her strategies and converted $80K! That equaled a 2,550% ROI. Nice!"
Adam Stein, MD
Adam Stein, MD
"Catherine outlined a plan that put key metrics in place, gave us a clear plan to follow throughout the year and trained our staff to increase their conversions by at least 10%. Since engaging with Catherine, I’m happy to report that revenues are up 15% over the last three months - 22% in the last month alone! I highly recommend Catherine’s consulting services to any practice looking for “best practice” additions to their operation."
Robert Sigal, MD
Robert Sigal, MD
"I have finally tapped into the most efficient way to grow my cosmetic practice and that is to “fish in the pond of my own patients”. When patients return to my practice, over 85% will purchase another service, product, or procedure. Not only was it worth over $200,000 in revenues this past year, it also reminds my patients I’m still around so they don’t wander off to my competitors. Catherine’s group has far exceeded our expectations and goals we had set up for them to achieve."
Victor Ferrari, MD
Victor Ferrari, MD
"Our consult conversions were running at 40-50%. Then we attended Catherine’s online training and implemented her strategies. They immediately increased conversion rates to 75-80%."
Anthony Corrado, MD
Anthony Corrado, MD
"I know how to run a profitable practice; however, it was not without major staff issues, inefficiencies and unproductive drama. With Catherine's guidance, I reorganized staff, set up processes for them to carry more of the workload and hold them accountable so I have more time to focus on patient care. The changes we put in place and the staff training to convert more callers and consultations will easily increase my revenues by 15% as well as save us time, money and costly mistakes. "
Evan Sorokin, MD
Evan Sorokin, MD
"Working with Catherine and her team has been very profitable. We’re only half way through the year and I’m up $200K and I’m booked out for the next 2 months even though we typically go into our slow summer months now. Her recent promotion brought in an extra $63,782 with more surgeries scheduled. I never realized how much money was sitting in my patient list but I’m a believer now!"
Robert Langdon, MD
Robert Langdon, MD
"Catherine Maley has one of the best Marketing Minds in the aesthetic industry, bar none. She understands the aesthetic patient and she also understands the challenges and frustrations we face as aesthetic surgeons. You will benefit from Catherine's tools whether you are new in practice or a seasoned professional.Turn to Catherine for guidance - she knows what she's talking about."
Edwin Williams, MD
Edwin Williams, MD
“Catherine’s Cosmetic Patient Marketing Service has been a great addition to our practice-building overall plan. While we still invest in our online presence, we also found immense value in the internal marketing efforts. We especially like that all results are tracked so we know we are getting a great return ... last year it was 1,148% and no staff time was used. That’s a much easier way to grow my cosmetic practice.”
Mark Mason, MD
Mark Mason, MD
"Catherine Maley turned our practice around. We converted more consultations in one week than we did in an entire month. Our practice went from a painful 50% no show rate to a remarkable 85% show rate. Even more impressive was our close ratio - from 35% to 80% and still increasing. We would recommend her to any practice that’s looking to not only increase their profits today, but sustain a healthy flow of income for many years to come. Thanks Catherine!"
Sam Assassa, MD
Sam Assassa, MD
"Catherine found me the best patient care coordinator I could have asked for. She worked out a payment plan that was fair to me and motivating to my coordinator. She also provided training tools to help my coordinator convert better, even though she was already experienced. The results have been phenomenal. So good, in fact, that my income increased 250% and I’m booked out for 3 months. Don’t waste any more time or money doing it yourself. Outsource to someone you trust!"
Andrew Lofman, MD
Andrew Lofman, MD
"Since we’ve been working with Catherine and her team for the past 5 months, we’ve brought in $79K in surgeries and have booked an additional 17 surgical procedures and 20 non-invasive body procedures since then. This does not include the additional new patient referrals and revenues we are seeing from the on-going nurturing of my current patient database."
Verne Weisberg, MD
Verne Weisberg, MD
"I had given my staff the goal to convert at least $35K per week in surgeries AND I gave them the tools to help which was Catherine’s Online Learning Center at More Patients Academy. They watched Catherine’s modules and implemented her strategies and converted $80K! That equaled a 2,550% ROI. Nice!"
Adam Stein, MD
Adam Stein, MD
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