Kansas City-area doctor

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As the director of , a safety-net clinic in Kansad City, Kan., Lee urges other physician s to reconsider sending longtime patients her way when thosd patients have lost their insurance in the She even offers to try to help by having the clinicf do lab work for the with patients paying a nominal fee tothe clinic. “I’ve got some folks who say, ‘Uh, no Lee said, “and there are others who say, I’ll try that.
’” The seconf answer might be the best Medical industry experts said practices lookingt to thrive in the long term should do what it takesa to maintain their patient base during the Working with patients in hard timess can cement relationships forthe future, especiallyh given evidence that patientsd are forgoing care during the recession. In a recent membert survey by the Leawood-based , 54 percent of respondents reportedc reduced patient traffic since therecession began. AAFP President Dr. Ted Epperly has responded to the recessio by improving customer service at his practicwein Boise, Idaho.
At the start of the Epperly’s practice instituted “open-access” scheduling. Using that practices eliminate their appointment backlog and then focuson “doingg today’s work today,” including honoring requests for same-daty appointments. That, in turn, freesa up the future-appointment schedule. Although working through the backloh can require seeing additional patientaevery day, Epperly said the change has allowed his practice to better server patients who need to be seen rightt away. The academy recommends this approach as sound businessstrategh regardless, but Epperly said it’s doublty important during the recession.
“That good will and good fait goes a long way to keepiny patient loyalty duringtougu times,” he said. Practices that are really hurtinhgfor clients, Epperly said, mightf consider getting the word out to hospital emergencyh departments that they are accepting new John Leifer, health care consultant with in had another suggestion for providers: Put on free stress-reduction seminars, and perhap s even offer affordable stress-reliefc services. That not only would be a greatgpublic service, he said, but also mighgt be a way to add The point, he said, is to be “empathetic to the public and say: ‘Whatf can we do?
What coulr we be doing to help people at this given momenft that involves something other than the provisionb of acute-care services?’” KU Women’s Healtg Specialists, an obstetrics and gynecology practicw with more than 20 is taking a different approachn to maintaining and adding to its patient base durin g the recession. The practice is affiliated with . Practices Chairman Dr. Carl Weiner is pushing aheaf with aggressive expansion intothe