Nov
16
Written by:
Christine Sindt
11/16/2009 3:43 PM
At the front desk, your patient is very angry and literally shaking his bill in your face.
He states, "Your fees are unresonable, and I am not going to pay!" He has received an exam, contact lens fitting, glasses and specialty contact lenses from your office.
What do you do?
People frequently aren't telling you the real reason behind their emotions. Personally, if a patient presents to me angry, I look at it as an opportunity, since they are still communicating. The patients who quietly slip away are the ones we should worry about.
When a patient is mad, ask him/her to come into a quiet room (away from the front desk and the ears of other patients.) Listen to all the complaints without judgment; don't be defensive. Ask questions to clarify—in many cases, this means simply repeating back what he or she said. It is your turn to talk when the patient stops talking. Until then, the patient has not felt heard and your points cannot be made.
In this case, the patient was an older man with a corneal transplant. He had successfully worn contact lenses for almost two years. It baffled me that he suddenly was so angry. The conversation went something like this:
Him: "You fees are unreasonable, and I am not going to pay!"
Me: "You are unhappy with your bill?"
Him: "Yes! Why should I pay for a contact lens I can't see out of?"
Me: "You can't see out of the lens?" (Knowing his vision is actually quite good.)
Him: "How can I see out of it if I can't get the dang thing in?"
Me: (Thinking, that's strange; he's worn the lens for two years now.) "You can't get it in?"
Him: "It's just so hard since my wife died..."
We both had a good cry, he had a new contact lens class and he paid his bill. And to this day, I get hugs from him everytime he comes in.
Tags: