Patients are busy, overscheduled and out of time. A lengthy wait to see their
physician can be very frustrating and a huge determining factor on whether they
continue to see that physician for their healthcare needs. On average, patients
expect to wait between 10-12 minutes to see their physician from the time they
check in with the receptionist to the time the nurse calls them back to the exam
room. Beyond that time frame, most patients consider it to be an “extended wait”
and begin to get frustrated. Practices can help alleviate this issue if a physician
is running behind by notifying patients at check-in about the extended wait, the
reason for the delay and offering options that include rescheduling their
appointment, seeing another provider that may be available or running an errand
and returning for their appointment. When patients are made aware of extended
wait times, thus put in control of this situation, they are seven times more likely to
not become frustrated or speak negatively about their experience. Armed with
this information, your practice can implement policies that keep your physicians
on schedule, but also prepare your front office staff in the event a delay does
occur. When the staff is prepared, they can deliver a higher quality of customer
service to your patients.

Create a WOW Patient Experience Tip—Call patients whose appointments
may be affected by a long delay to see the physician and allow them to make a
decision BEFORE they make the trip to your office. Taking your customer
service to the next level with simply steps like this, set you apart from the
competition.