A change in the business model for delivering oral healthcare is underway. We are more than two decades into the 21st century, and advances in technology have led to sweeping changes, including in how to conduct business. Those of us who run oral health clinics must consider modifying our approach to be more like a retail operation, not just to keep current, but to catch up.
Consider the 20-year shift in retail commerce to e-commerce. At the turn of the century, shopping online was a novel experience, but these days, it’s a standard option—and an appealing one. We save effort and time using our phone to get what we need. The online model also focuses on customer satisfaction, which we’ve all become accustomed to. Customer, or in our case patient, satisfaction is essential.
At academic health centers, we must consider the full patient journey. When we think about patient satisfaction, we tend to focus solely on the dental chair experience. While that is critically important, the patient journey is much broader. It might begin with someone looking online for a clinic to get their teeth cleaned. They find a website with a phone number and wait to call during business hours only to get an appointment weeks out, if they are lucky enough that someone answers the phone. The patient drives to the university, struggles to find parking, and makes their way to the clinical building. If all goes well, they are greeted by staff, or perhaps there are confusing signs or detours for construction, and they end up in the wrong location. Eventually they arrive at the correct clinic where they provide their insurance and health information and are told to sit and wait. That is just the front end of a typical patient journey. We can do better.
The Information Age Is an Age of Convenience
The internet profoundly changed our perspectives. We have all become advanced consumers of information, goods, and services. We can arrange for anything online. It makes sense that our patients want the same convenience when they coordinate their healthcare. And it explains why the largest online retailer recently acquired a highly-rated, membership-based primary care program.
Increasingly, we are seeing membership-based concierge health services where patients pay an annual fee. Patients can schedule appointments easily through an app or website. These services often boast same-day or next-day appointments, and use technology extensively to streamline healthcare delivery. This includes telehealth options for virtual visits, electronic health records (EHRs) accessible to patients, and digital tools for managing health information. The experience is characterized by convenience, accessibility, and a commitment to patient satisfaction through modernized healthcare delivery methods.
For the early part of the 21st century, there were lingering barriers to healthcare transitioning to a retail model, but like much of recent history, COVID changed everything. Telehealth had been around for years prior to 2020, with 76% of hospitals in the US offering some versions of remote patient visits. From March to June 2019, telemedicine visits in the US increased 766%, rising from 0.3% to an astonishing 23.6% of all patient interactions. Not only is there no going back, but people now expect convenience in all areas of healthcare.
The Retail Model in Practice
In primary care medicine, the traditional doctor’s office has lost patients to urgent care clinics, and increasingly to retail pharmacies that offer non-emergency care. Patients, primarily Millennial and Gen Z, are more concerned with convenience than credentials. More than half of these younger patients prefer to seek help from the pharmacy with vaccinations, smoking cessation counseling, contraception, and diabetes prevention, rather than taking the time to schedule an appointment at a conventional doctor’s office.
Of course, oral health providers are not going to lose our patients to other healthcare providers, however academic dental-school-based clinics with highly specialized care will likely suffer without focusing more on our patients. Whether we are looking to adopt a concierge model or just striving for a better patient experience, there are some ways we can improve our practices.
First, our patients must be able to reach us easily. Every phone call or electronic message should be answered promptly.
We can expand our hours to give patients the opportunity to come in during evenings or weekends. Not everyone can take time off work to come in for care. And if they’ve had to postpone care and call when they’re having pain, they’re not going to be enthusiastic to hear that the soonest appointment they can get is two months from now. We must try to be flexible and accommodating.
We can explain procedures and costs to our patients so they can make an informed decision. Choice is a large part of what we all have come to value as consumers. We should always recommend the best treatment, but whenever possible we should allow our patients to participate in the decisions that affect their health and finances.
The transition to the 21st century has not been kind to all businesses. Some retail giants sat back and watched as Amazon got a 20-year head start on them. Belatedly, some brick-and-mortar retailers pushed into e-commerce, but not everyone acted in time to survive. As oral health clinicians, we are confronted with a choice: do we want to be Amazon, or do we want to be Sears? And if you are asking, “What’s Sears?” I think you already have your answer.
