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Beauty and the Biz – Problem Patients Checklist
Today’s episode is about Preventing Problem Patients by using a Checklist and other strategies.
So, we all the saying “An ounce of prevention is a worth a pound of cure.”
I discovered Ben Franklin coined this timeless phrase back in 1736 to remind Philadelphia citizens to remain vigilant about fire awareness and prevention.
This advice works just as well today in our own industry.
A little precaution BEFORE a problem occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing it afterwards.
As a cosmetic surgeon, you get all the risk when dealing with the cosmetic patient.
You hope/believe the prospective patient is hearing you when you say:
“I can’t make it perfect, but I can make it a lot better.”
The good news is most consumers make for great cosmetic patients. They have done a lot of research online and read/watch/heard about the good, the bad and the ugly.
They are friendly, reasonable, and realistic.
But the few patients who aren’t, can wreak havoc with your reputation and mental health.
So, you want to Plan Ahead to Prevent Problem Patients
What can trip you up are your own emotions during the consultation process. The two major ones being ego and greed.
It can be difficult to say no to prospective patients who want to give you money. That’s completely understandable.
Same thing with your ego. It’s so much easier during the consultation process to ignore your gut telling you to beware than to say no.
When interviewing surgeons about problem patients, they repeatedly tell me, “I knew there were red flags, but I thought I could manage them.”
Most of the time you can, but why not set up a process to help you stay out of these sticky situations that come back to haunt you later?
I recommend you get together with your team and review what you have discovered from experiencing problem patients. Looking back, what were the warning signs?
Then develop your own pre-surgical red flags checklist.
Below is an example to give you a good start:
Red Flags Checklist
- Their significant other makes the appointments and schedules the surgery, rather than the patient doing it herself.
- Rude to staff
- Lying
- Demanding
- Self-centered
- Inflexible
- Whiny
- Bad-talking other surgeons
- Over dramatic
- Too emotional / Too unemotional
- Does not understand the procedure
- Repetitive behaviors
- On meds (Call their psychiatrist)
- Won’t take photos
- Won’t sign consent forms
- Vague about post-operative support
- Your staff has reservations.
- You just don’t like the patient.