Jan. 2, 2008 at 2:42pm

Delivering doggedly good service

Posted by Shari Campbell in Planning and Strategy, Practice Management
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Bailey, our beloved Golden Retriever, needs to go to the vet for her annual exam.

I probably would’ve forgotten this, much like I’ve forgotten to schedule my daughters’ annual check-ups for, well, the past three years.

But there’s one big difference:

My veterinarian sent us a reminder card, which they followed-up with a friendly phone call. And because appointments are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, Bailey the dog is always the most current member of our family when it comes to health and wellness check-ups.

Sumner Veterinary Hospital inspired me to jot down a few of the lessons we can learn from our neighborhood vet.

1. Convenience. One easy way for physicians and medical groups to differentiate is to make appointment times more convenient for today’s busy families. Several of us here at JayRay tap into our “sick leave” simply to take our kids to doctor’s appointments, which means we miss work and our kids miss school.

   What about opening up your office two evenings a week and scheduling appointments until 9 p.m.?

2. Use technology to help your patients. The tool used by Sumner Veterinary Hospital is very simple and somewhat labor intensive. Hospital systems and mid- to large-sized medical groups would be wise to consider working with one of the companies that offers the latest customer relationship management (CRM) technology.

   I’m a fan of CPM Marketing Group, but there are a number of companies that can help you.

   CPM offers its clients a product called Lifetime Connections. In essence, it’s a highly sophisticated reminder card, with more than 150 versions, all tailored to your patients – their age, sex, risk factors, screening exams, blood tests, etc.

   Reminder cards are mailed automatically to patients who “forget” to schedule their annual appointments. What’s more, you can track ROI and demonstrate two key outcomes: your patients will be more likely to get appropriate exams (percent increase in visits), and appointment and screening tests (revenues) associated with this effort will be profitable for your medical group.

3. Price is more than money. A neighbor has told me that Sumner Veterinary Hospital charges more than most vets in our area. It may be true, but we don’t really care about the price, even though we pay cash for Bailey’s vet needs and don’t have insurance or simple co-pay to reduce our costs.

   The staff at Sumner Veterinary Hospital has earned our continued business – Bailey is our third dog – with convenient hours, discounts for bundled services, coupons and specials for services ranging from immunizations to puppy classes, and much more. And when our last Golden Retriever, Sarah, died suddenly after a stay at Sumner Vet’s boarding facility, the veterinarian-owner stayed late the evening of our dog’s death to do an autopsy – at no charge to us – and called us with the results.

   We wouldn’t think of going to another vet, and don’t worry about the cost for Bailey’s check-ups, classes, grooming or boarding. You see, Sumner Vet has continued to add service and value.

   We, in turn, are loyal, evangelical customers.

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