Coach Barrow

Dear Coach

We have been working very hard at defining and developing a much better “Patient Journey” through our practice. The whole team have been involved, as we have very much taken on board your philosophy that the patient is like a “baton in a relay race” and that every player in the team has a responsibility to avoid “dropping the baton” by delivering fabulous personal service – a smile, eye contact, genuine interest and appreciation – all that stuff.

We organised an initial training session to discuss our views. We set aside the time to attend a day’s training on “The Patient Journey” and we then came back to the practice and made a big effort to implement the ideas and revisit them at periodic team meetings.

However, we do ten to keep slipping back into our old habits – we are busy most days and there just sometimes doesn’t seem enough time. Most of the staff are now mildly complaining that they have forgotten the key elements of the journey and we seem to be losing the enthusiasm. I don’t want this to be yet another initiative that got lost in the rush. Any hints?

Dear Dentist

What I want to do first is congratulate you for having made an effort. Now it’s about “sustainability” – how do we maintain the momentum, the enthusiasm and how do we measure?

In the practices where this programme was pioneered, we asked for nominations for a “Patient Journey Champion” (PJC) – a member of staff who would take responsibility for “sustainability” i.e. making sure that the learning’s were implemented in the practice and maintained, in the face of day to day “stuff”.

We asked for our champions to be nominated from within the team – and to avoid asking senior dentists or practice managers, as they have their hands full and would see this as just another “to do”.

Nominations have included nurses, receptionists, hygienists, and associates – a complete cross-section of the dental team.

I was recently asked to put together a top 10 list of points for the Practice Journey Champion to act as an “idiot’s guide” (their term, not mine) – so here goes:

1. Understand the PJ material – we have deconstructed the perfect patient journey into a series of 12 steps and it is essential that the PJC understands these steps and the actions that have been agreed by the team as to how they will be implemented in each individual practice. To remind you, the steps are:

The telephone enquiry and/or first visit

The pre-first appointment paperwork

The arrival at the Reception

The Patient Lounge

The journey to the surgery

The initial conversation

The clinical examination

The treatment planning discussion

The treatment plan

Delivering the treatment

Back to the reception

The post-visit action and paperwork

2. Be able to train – team members will forget some of the agreed points – so the PJC should be able to take that person(s) to one side and quickly explain, in simple terms, what was agreed;

3. Be able to consult – training is about “what to do”, consulting is about “what to do with the training in your individual circumstances” – the PJC should be able to explain, discuss and agree how the training will be applied to the individual’s circumstances- and be flexible enough to agree common sense changes;

4. Be able to coach – coaching is about “how’s it going – what’s working best/least – what would you like to change – where would you appreciate additional training/consulting?” The PJC should be able to take time out with individuals to ask these questions and respond to the answers;

5. Be a good listener – listening involves eye contact, body language and genuine appreciation. The PJC should be a great listener, who can reflect, clarify and respond to the concerns and questions that will arise;

6. Have firm boundaries – team members may attempt to involve the PJC in issues outside of the patient journey – staffing, morale, money, operational, relationships, stuff. This is the remit of the principal and/or practice manager – so the PJC will be ready to say “let me make a note of that and pass it on – now let’s get back to the patient journey”;

7. Not know all the answers – the PJC is an enthusiast but not an expert – the PJC should be able to acknowledge that they may not know the answer to a specific question and explain that reference will be made to the practice manager/principal/senior dentist/area manager (in a corporate) or coach (me!) for clarification;

8. Be an enthusiast – the PJC will not join in negative talk about the business or the patients – the PJC is an individual who knows about helium and only says something when it can increase the listeners self-esteem;

9. Be an example – they will be looking at you – so the PJC will be an example of high self-esteem, enthusiasm (have I said before?), loyalty, customer care and commitment;

10. Be a giver – giver’s gain in life and the PJC is always ready to help, at the time that works for both them and the team. Firm boundaries around time but a part of every day allocated to this role.

I hope these pointers will help you to identify and appoint a Patient Journey Champion in your practice.