• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Administrating Excellence
    • Building the Office
    • COVID-19
    • Growing the Practice
    • Leading the Team
    • Making the Clinic Work
    • Medical Students/Residents
    • Using Health IT
  • Allscripts EHR Training Videos
  • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Case Studies
    • Checklists
    • Infographics
    • White Papers
  • Member Area
  • Member Login
  • Register

SBGM

Knowledge to Transform Your Medical Practice

Case Study: Dr. HF Doesn’t Build Confidence

By Thomas Patton MD

Frustrated Patient

TS has been struggling with dizziness for several years. He has been to several doctors in multiple specialties. He has set up an appointment with a new doctor and is hopeful that the encounter will be positive. Dr. HF walks into the room still talking to one of the practice nurses, who is out in the hall. Dr. HF remains standing and his first question to TS is why did he not go to an ENT office since his chief complaint is dizziness. When TS tries to explain that he has been to two different ENTs already, Dr. HF cuts him short and asks a couple of yes-or-no questions. Dr. HF did a quick exam, ordered a test, and sent in a prescription before walking out of the room. As the door closed TS felt empty. He had no confidence that a test would help and really did not even know how to take the medication. He decide to not follow through with the test and did not give the medication a full trial. He did not have any improvement in his symptoms and felt that he had wasted his time and copay.

Diagnosis:

Negative patient engagement

Recommendations:

  • Whenever possible, focus on the patient before opening the door to the exam room
  • Use body language and active listening to ensure your patients feel heard
  • Check for understanding 
  • Ask, “what are your questions?”
  • Remember that poor patient engagement leads to poor outcomes and reduced follow-up rates with negative effects on your revenue
  • Poor patient engagement also sets you up for unhappy patients, decreased practice enjoyment, and eventual burnout. 

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to join the conversation about growing your practice.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share the knowledge to transform your practice

Filed Under: Case Studies, Editors Pick, Making the Clinic Work Tagged With: Making the Clinic Work

Primary Sidebar

Tags

Accounting for Physicians Administering Excellence Administrative Excellence Building the Office Building the Practice Burnout Clinical Trials Compensation COVID-19 Cybersecurity Electronic Health Records embezzlement Emotional Intelligence Finance Growing the Practice health care accounting Health Care Practice Dynamics Health IT Human Resources Improving Outcomes Leading the Team Making Medicine Fun Again Making the Clinic Work Medical Appointment Scheduling medical practice accounting medical practice banking Medical Practice Embezzlement Medical Practice Expenses Medical Practice Finances Medical Practice Revenue Medical Schools Medical Students Patient Education Patient Engagement Phone Tree Practice Manager Prior Authorization Residency Scheduling Scheduling Software Staff Engagement Taxes Using Health Care IT Voice Assistants Voice Technology
JNP Enterprises © 2025 ·
This site uses technologies such as cookies to provide a better user experience by personalizing content and ads, analysing web traffic, trends, and improving site operations. we may share information about your use of the site with third parties in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use this site, you agree that we can save cookies on your device, unless you have disabled them. You can change your cookie settings at any time by visiting our Cookie Policy, but parts of our site may not function correctly without them.OkPrivacy policy