Traditionally, a visit to the doctor was meant to be efficient and focused on time saved by the practice. Get ‘em in, get ‘em out. See as many patients as possible, especially as reimbursements decline. Efficiency was seen as the best way to optimize revenue and income (i.e., money).
However, this was good for the doctor but not so good for the patient, especially if the patient was forced to wait a long time before or in the middle of appointments.
The Experience Economy
The Experience Economy turns this notion on its head. Less time spent creates a path to commoditization and less value.
You compete for the time and attention of consumers as well as their wallet, and you need to think differently about the role time plays in your offering. This modern reality should serve as a siren call to anybody in the service business. Your ability to reduce and eliminate the need for your customer to wait provides competitive advantage. This is especially true for doctors and their medical practices.
The patient should view the experience as time well-spent. But, achieving this takes more work on your part to plan the overall experience so that it delights the customer. This means eliminating the routine violations that occur when you ask patients to fill out forms when they arrive. This should have been done beforehand. Or when patients are meant to wait with nothing to do.
Those are just two examples of time wasted. We’re sure you can think of plenty more.
Are You Valuing Your Patients' Time?
Concierge offerings are rising in popularity and not just because the traditional healthcare model is broken. This means patients are viewing their allocation of time – the one resource that no one can make more of – with increasing scrutiny.
You can learn more at www.eliminatewait.com
Are your customers spending more or less time with you?
If the answer is less, then you need to re-examine what you are doing as you are on the path towards commoditization of the services you offer.