The patient-clinician relationship plays a key role in quality of care, treatment adherence, patient experience, and even physician job satisfaction. Concierge practices— which have a membership model and smaller patient panels—promise stronger patient-clinician relationships through longer appointments, greater scheduling flexibility, and an emphasis on personalized attention. 

How can clinicians create stronger patient relationships in traditional practices with standard-sized patient panels? Here are some lessons learned from concierge medicine: 

Focus on value from the patient perspective. 

“Anything we can do to help patients feel cared for and valued as a whole person and to make the experience easier is really what keeps people coming back,” says Adrienne Lloyd, a practice management consultant who works with concierge and traditional practices. Lloyd encourages practices to look closely at where processes get hung up, whether it be communication, timely follow-up, or other interactions, such as portal messages or test results.

Think beyond the physician. 

“The first impression and last impression [of the practice] is not the physician— it’s the front desk,” says John J. Paat, MD, medical director of Duke Signature Care. How the practice handles communication before, after, and between appointments can help patients feel like “this is their practice and someone is looking after them,” Paat adds. 

Frontload information for both patient and provider. 

Although traditional practices may not be able to increase appointment lengths, patient-clinician discussions can be made more efficient by ensuring all important information is available before the appointment. This may include needed test results for providers and easy-to-digest information about a condition or procedure for patients. This way, patients and clinicians can have a fuller discussion about the diagnosis or treatment plan within a standard-length appointment, says Lloyd. 

Familiarize patients with the whole care team. 

Each member of the healthcare team has an opportunity to build relationships with patients. Encourage team members to take ownership of this by soliciting ideas about how to improve processes or connect better with patients. 
Lloyd suggests orienting patients to the practice with a “journey roadmap” that shows the steps and people involved in an office visit from check-in to check-out. This can help set expectations and put patients at ease as they encounter other members of the team. 

Consider the implications of any change. 

Lloyd acknowledges that any process change comes with costs, whether measured in time or financial resources. But if those changes improve follow-up and allow the team to ensure better care, the return on investment is clear.