https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig4Pk7Nh2t8

Below, we’ve compiled the key points discussed in the Jameson Files Episode 139. To enjoy the full episode with our very own Carrie Webber you can watch on YouTube or listen to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Jameson Files. I'm your host, Carrie Webber, and it's such a pleasure to have you here again today!

Today we want to talk about a very popular subject with our Jameson clients across the country. In fact, when I'm lecturing to groups across the country, the demand for this topic is always at the top of the list. And that is: case presentation. But let’s look at an even bigger and broader scope than that, because really this is all about your patient's experience and the team's approach to what we at Jameson call the Patient Practice Partnership. 

What is the Patient Practice Partnership?

Now, why do we call it the Patient Practice Partnership at Jameson? We believe that the patient-centered approach to building relationships with your patients, educating your patients, and ultimately communicating with them about necessary, needed, or even wanted care is the difference maker for you from getting to where you are now and where you want to be, not only as a practice, but as a practitioner who has an ideal vision for your practice.

So when we talk about the Patient Practice Partnership, we're talking about some specific aspects of the patient experience that I want to walk you through briefly today. And these findings are founded in what we see coming from studies by the ADA Health Policy Institute. Year over year, they ask for the top reasons patients don't move forward with treatment or don't stay active in your practice. And guess what? Cost is always the top deterrent, which is probably no surprise to you. The other two that are always right near the top are time and fear. There are some other ones that come up pretty high as well, but cost consistently seems to be the top deterrent. 

Now, as we at Jameson consider these findings and look at them from the patient's perspective, we have come up with ways to help patients get the kind of dentistry they want or need. So we have created what we consider the four pillars of a healthy patient practice partnership. And those pillars are where we can measure both success and areas that need to be developed as a team when it comes to how the patients engage with us.

Four Pillars of Patient Practice Partnership Success

The pillars are trust, need, urgency, and value. If patients are not moving forward with treatment or staying active in our practice, more than likely you’re missing the mark on one or more of these pillars. So when you think about the patients that you have in your practice right now, or on your new patient experience, or on your treatment presentations and consultations, think about these four pillars.

whether or not your patients are moving forward, staying active and so on or not is based upon how successful we are in building these pillars.

Do your patients trust you? Do they see the need for the treatment you are providing or recommending? Do they sense an urgency to receive that kind of need, especially when it's in terms of restorative care? And do they see a value in what you bring to the table? So think about your practice from those four pillars. The stronger those pillars are in our patient relationship with our practice, the better we all are in the long run. 

How do we build the pillars?

But how can we improve? How do we build these pillars? There are a few aspects of practice building, team development, and personal development that I want to take a look at from not only the lens of what you recognize as needs in your practice, but from the perspective of your patients. When we pivot our mindsets to look at it from the patient's perspective, things may look a lot different.