Recently, a team member here at Medical Site Solutions had an issue that needed medical assessment.  Yes, we talk to TONSSS of health care providers in the medical industry every day because, well, we’re in the business creating medical websites for doctors.  But in this case, our team member (let’s call her Jennifer for this blog’s sake) was in the position of being simply, a patient.  Jennifer came to work the next day and was all but raving about the doctor she had visited.  Her patient experience was awesome.  And it got us thinking more about doctors (as if we already don’t spend 150% of our existence thinking about them…haha) and what makes a truly great one.  There are so many doctors, physician, surgeons and health care providers out there…but what makes one better than another?  Is it their bedside manner?  Is it the building of a rapport?  Is it their experience or knowledge?  What separates the wheat from the chaff?  We decided to conduct our own little survey of patient experiences to come up with what we believe are the top ten qualities of a great doctor from the patient’s perspective.  This involved talking to several recent patients (like Jennifer) and discussing why they liked or didn’t like their doctor or experience, reading a ton of Yelp reviews for some of the top doctors in the area (and some of the lowest ranked doctors), and formulating our own conclusions based on our research.

​Here are the top 10 qualities of a great doctor that we came up with:
1)     Great Communication

• A great doctor has excellent communication skills and an empathetic bedside manner.  This doesn’t mean that they are great at explaining medical issues and procedures.  This may be part of being a good communicator but isn’t limited to the doctor reciting his/her knowledge.  It also means they are adept at actively and carefully listening to their patients.

2)     Attentive

• Many doctors today have a churn and burn type practice, with the primary goal of getting the patients in and getting them out.  Their goal is to see as many patients as they can cram into their schedule and trust me, the patients feel this.  Rushing appointments and making quick decision not only makes patients feel uneasy, uncared for, and part of a cattle call, it’s also bad for your online reputation.  A great doctor takes the critical time needed to build a rapport with their patients.  They take the time to ask (and answer) a few more questions, dig a little deeper into an issue, and truly care about helping their patients.

3)     Professional

• A great doctor is highly professional.  Being a professional can means a lot of different things to different doctors.  But to patients it means being trustworthy (doctor/patient confidentiality), being highly knowledgeable, being a great communicator, skilled, kind, caring, focused, and staying calm in traumatic situations.

4)     Caring

• This is a biggie and is the difference between being a “good” doctor versus being a “great” one.  A great doctor is truly and honestly empathetic and compassionate to their patients’ discomfort, pain or trauma.  Having the ability to be compassionate and caring means that the doctor is interested in his/her patients as human beings and not just information on a medical chart.

5)     Respectful of the Individual Patient

• Going the extra mile and treating each patient as an individual rather than a statistic is critical to being a great doctor.  Respecting your patients means listening to your patients and taking their input seriously.  Every patient is different, has a different body, and no one issue is exactly the same as the next.  One patient might be uncomfortable with taking a certain drug (or any drugs), another may prefer a more holistic approach to treatment, and another may have a religious or ethical belief that hinders treatment.  Always be respectful of your patient as an individual and try to problem solve from their uniqueness as opposed to routine methodologies.

6)     Skilled

• Patients want a doctor who is highly skilled and dedicated in their work.  More than being simply intelligent and book smart, a great doctor is truly talented at what they do and uses intuition and experience to implement the most effective treatments available.

7)     Confident

• Great doctors are not only supremely confident but they inspire confidence in their patients.  Patients want to feel secure that their doctor knows exactly what he’s doing every step of the way.  Whether performing surgery, formulating a diagnosis, giving medical advice, or creating a treatment plan, patients absolutely want a doctor who is 100% confident in their practice.

8)     Thorough

• This quality goes hand-in-hand with “attentive.”  A great doctor is thorough and takes their time to analyze their patient’s specific medical issue.

9)      Passionate

• The greatest doctors in the world all have this one quality in common: passion.  They are passionate about medicine, their practice, and helping others.  Their passion shines thru their work and patients know they are with “the right” doctor when they find one that is truly passionate.  A doctor who loves what he does, who is dedicated and committed, and who goes miles beyond the average doctor…those are the great ones.

10)  Progressive

• Great doctors NEVER STOP LEARNING….EVER!!!  No patient likes a closed-minded doctor set in his ways.  The medical industry changes and evolves at a very fast pace, and patients want the medical advice of doctors who are up-to-date on the latest developments, techniques, technologies, drugs, cures, and breakthroughs.

An additional aspect worth mentioning that greatly contributes to the patient experience is your OFFICE STAFF.  We’ve read again and again in Yelp reviews about patient experiences with staff, and you’d be surprised at just how important it is to have the right team in place.  Your staff is the first impression of your practice that your patients experience.  How kind or tired or rude or cheerful or helpful the office staff comes across can make or break your practice’s online reviews.  The same goes for any nurses, technicians, or assistants working in your office that have direct interaction on a daily basis with your patients.  It’s all part of the overall patient experience, and these days, with the accessibility to review sites like Health Grades, Yelp, Rate MDs and Vitals your reputation is more vulnerable than ever.  It doesn’t matter if you’re the best doctor on the planet if you have a crappy staff that isn’t creating a welcoming and caring environment.  It only takes a few bad reviews to knock a star or two off your online status.  At Medical Site Solutions, we offer medical website packages for doctors that include reputation management services.  Contact us today at (888) 993-1992 for more information on how we can help your top qualities shine in patient reviews.

OK, yes…Medical Site Solutions is all about helping the healthcare industry by providing professional websites and excellent service at an affordable price.  But if you haven’t already gleaned from our social media posts, we’re also all about inspiration and motivation and leading a healthy existence.  Why?  Because our goal is to ALWAYS BE GROWING so that we can give MORE…BE MORE for our clients.  We strive to consistently bring our very BEST to the table.  You see, our mission is to practice constant strategic innovation in our products, services and delivery.  We ask ourselves everyday: How can we add MORE value to our client’s practice than anyone else?  And how can we do that in a real, authentic, and transparent way?

And so, last weekend leaders at Medical Site Solutions participated in a profound team building experience by travelling to San Jose, California to attend a Tony Robbins seminar.  The expectations were simple:  we would learn about leadership, partake in team building exercises, learn a bit about business mastery, and take away a few golden nuggets that would empower us to run the best medical website design business in the United States.  What we learned, what we took away was so much more.  As extraordinary as this experience was, it’s virtually impossible to describe exactly how impactful and mind blowing this event was in actuality.  But imagine spending 14 to 16 hour days with over 10,000 other souls from over 50 different countries around the world, all looking to achieve a magnificent life and business.  We spent the weekend building incredible relationships while gaining ridiculously effective psychological, spiritual, emotional, business and leadership insights.

How do you become a great leader?  You don’t just live in the culture (or simply exist within your specialty), you CREATE the culture.  You CREATE YOUR standard of excellence.  Not based on what others are doing, but based on YOUR BEST capability.  So let me ask you what Robbins asked us: What does YOUR BEST look like?  What would YOUR best practice look like?  What would YOUR best business look like?  What would it FEEL like if you were the best, the most innovative, the most resourceful, in your field?  How would it change your business if you offered your patients the best care, or results, or experiences?  What would it feel like if YOU were the innovator, if YOU were the most current, if YOU were the undisputed top dog within your specialty in your state?  How can you offer MORE to your patients than ANY OTHER health care provider in your field?  How would it change your life if you had had the EXACT patients and procedures YOU WANTED?
One of the more powerful segments of the seminar focused on “The Power of Mastering Your Business” and the “X Factor.”  The X Factor in business is the ability to find a way to add INTANGIBLE value—value that goes beyond what anybody can really measure.  In a nutshell, it’s the ability to find a way to do more for your patients  than absolutely ANYBODY else and to consistently maintain that standard…if not raise it.  What is YOUR X Factor?  What makes YOU stand out?  How can you be more relevant and get in front of your target audience?  What makes you valuable and unique from others within your medical specialty?

In the process of mastering your medical practice, there are three things to be aware of that can hold you back:

• Failure to ANTICIPATE the road ahead: You must know how to align your business with the changing landscape. And you must keep up with the changes to stay relevant (i.e. your website, your social media presence, your technology, your marketing, your business practices, your patient experience, your education, etc.).
• Lack of FOLLOW THRU: Not having a concise and clear cut plan of action for the growth and improvement of your practice.
• Your own PSYCHOLOGY/MINDSET: Do you have the mindset to follow thru when it comes to the BUSINESS side of your practice?

Because the thing is, Robbins taught us a very simple yet profound concept that he reiterated over and over again: Progress=Happiness.  If we aren’t growing, then we’re dying.  Whether it’s professionally or spiritually, with loved ones, with finances, or with business…we won’t experience the joy and fulfillment that is available to us when we are not taking focused ACTION to move forward and grow.  So I challenge you to think through your life and business very carefully and honestly.  Where is YOUR practice stagnant?  Are there areas that need some work and how can you create lasting change for the better in those areas?  Some areas may only need small incremental shifts to continue to make progress and others may need a complete overhaul.  Where are you making progress in your practice and are you CELEBRATING that progress?  Acknowledging your progress and achievements (both big and small) sounds so simple, but it’s something we rarely practice.  Yet celebration and appreciation is critical to creating the kind of environment that is supportive, and thus successful.  So I invite you to explore and imagine what YOUR best looks like.  Again, not compared to others, but compared to your capabilities.  Whatever your best looks like, Medical Site Solutions would be honored to be a part of your journey towards mastering your business and helping you achieve YOUR X Factor.