Orthodontist of the Year
A teacher in our town recently won a silver apple award as "teacher of the year". One of the reasons given for the award was that this teacher made house calls on a pupil who had developed cancer. It reminded me of an experience of mine with a patient who acquired a debilitating condition requiring that he be bedridden for a year. It was an interesting challenge for me to continue his treatment as normally as possible by carting the anticipated needs in tools and supplies to his home for that year. The happy ending to this tale is that he did recover, and his orthodontic treatment did not suffer appreciable delay. Beyond these obvious satisfactions, it was an unforgettable personal experience--I suspect for both of us.
Have you ever made house calls on a sick patient either for a regular treatment visit or for an emergency? I made emergency visits to patients who were ill, but in need of my help to take care of an ill-timed orthodontic emergency. I thought it was part of my job, but patients and parents looked upon it as an extraordinary, caring service. Furthermore, there is so much of a bonding experience when you visit patients in their homes, it amazes me that physicians gave it up. The same is true when you treat emergency patients in your home. I always kept a set of tools and supplies at home so I could see emergency patients who lived nearer to me than to the office, at times such as weekends and holidays. Sometimes it was also more convenient for me.
My home telephone number was available to patients, and they knew that they could call me any time they had an emergency. It was not abused. In 25 years I may have been called at home for emergencies half a dozen times, but patients appreciated the comfort of knowing that I wanted to be available to them at all hours. To assure availability, an orthodontist must also have an answering service; not an answering machine that can't call the doctor, but a good answering service that can and will. This means that the doctor wants to be called when he or she is needed, and is willing to leave a golf game or a party to take care of the patient. That is, if the patients truly come first in the orthodontist's practice philosophy.
A caring orthodontist must also have an arrangement to take care of patients' emergencies while the orthodontist is out of town. There should be a written agreement among a group of orthodontists to cover one another's emergencies--and at no charge--when one is away. There must also be a written agreement with regard to group coverage of a practice if the orthodontist becomes ill or dies. Not only should these agreements be in place, but patients should be informed about them, which will add to their comfort level.
If a patient is going on a trip. the caring orthodontist goes over the itinerary with the patient and parents, and gives them a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of orthodontists in the cities and areas they will be visiting for reference in case of emergency.
It appears to have become commonplace for orthodontists to call patients at home the evening following a difficult appointment or an appliance placement visit to find out how they are getting along; it is viewed by both parties as a source of patient satisfaction. However, this or any other caring action in an orthodontic practice should not be done because it is practice building, even though that may be a result. These are things you would do for your good friends, and your patients are the best friends you and your staff and your family will ever have. They entrust a portion of their bodies, of their lives, and of their hopes to our care, and they pay us well for the service. This calls for not just the highest quality of treatment, but the highest quality and quantity of care in the delivery of the treatment.
It is well known that people want professional personnel to be attentive to their needs-- to be on time, to achieve excellent results, to look out for their comfort, to know each one as a person and treat each one as an individual, and to let them know they are appreciated. A caring practice does these things automatically.
The unintentional rewards of a caring practice are enjoyment, lack of stress, and an extraordinary case acceptance rate. People flock to an office with a reputation as a caring practice. For such a practice, the golden age of orthodontics is not over, and its patients look upon their doctor as the "orthodontist of the year" every year.