Christopher Sliva, MD, a spine surgeon with Rockford (Ill.) Spine Center talks about four ways spine surgeons can make a positive impression on patients and their community.
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1. Provide non-operative care. While surgery is your expertise, make sure you also provide non-operative care in your practice. Referring physicians want to know their patients will receive the right treatment, and patients want to see a specialist at your office even if they aren't a surgical candidate.
"Invest in a relationship with patients," says Dr. Sliva. "Provide everything from simple non-operative valuations through complex spinal reconstructive surgery. You must be an outlet for all your patients' needs. Once the patient identifies you as the source of treatment, you must address their concerns and not be focused on just operative care."
Surgeons who provide comprehensive care build a reputation in the community as the location for spine care patients, no matter where they are in their treatment. They will stay with your practice through their evolution of care. "Even though the surgeon would like to focus on operative care, providing several options is a way you can really leave a positive impression on the community," says Dr. Sliva.
2. Give patients the concierge experience. Make sure patients have a good first impression of your office from the moment they walk through the door. Sustain that impression with concierge treatment throughout their stay.
"When patients walk away from their episode of care with a positive impression, they are likely to share that experience with other people," says Dr. Sliva. "The same goes for a bad experience. Give patients a good experience, as well as an outlet to express themselves if something goes wrong. Without an outlet for their negative feelings, they will express themselves to their friends."
Patients should have the opportunity to provide feedback on their visit — electronically or through conversation — and make sure they know you are doing everything you can to help them. Providing comprehensive care will go a long way to satisfying patients, as they are more likely to have a negative experience if you can't help them.
3. Engage in innovation. Stay on the cutting edge of the spine field and actively engage in research and innovation. These efforts will raise your profile within the spine community and improve patient care at the local and national level.
"There are several ways for spine surgeons to make an impression on innovation, not just in spine surgery but in the healthcare system," says Dr. Sliva. "At Rockford Spine Center, we've tried to reduce the number of infections associated with spine surgery, which led to a study about using vancomycin. Adding to innovation for surgical principles or going back and revisiting basic surgical principles can lead to important innovations in spine care and healthcare."
Dr. Sliva and his colleagues were able to show how their unique use of vancomycin with spine surgical patients reduced the risk of infection, and now surgeons across the country use this process with their patients.
4. Form direct relationships with patients. Traditionally, surgeons focused on forming a relationship with primary care providers who referred patients. However, as more primary care physicians become hospital employees — and hospitals direct their referral patterns — independent surgeons must reach out to patients directly.
"Someone might have had good patient outcomes in the past and had steady referrals, but now the referral pattern has changed and specialists are getting referrals based on their employment with a certain health system," says Dr. Sliva. "Those relationships with PCPs, while important, may not be as fruitful as they had been in the past. Now it's more important to directly make relationships with patients as well as other providers of spine care."
Reach out to specialists such as physical therapists or chiropractors to develop a relationship so when their patients become surgical candidates, they'll refer them to you.
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