Owners of veterinary medicine, dentistry, and optometry practices share proactive strategies for discussing cost and financing options with patients using empathy to help them move forward with care.
A Q&A with Dr Sharon Curhan about her new study highlighting a link between seafood intake and risk of developing chronic tinnitus.
Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) announced that it has obtained Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and clearance in the last month for its Cochlear Remote Assist solution in the Nucleus and Baha Systems.
The 2017 summer camp, held from July 29-August 3 in Keystone, Col, brought together 104 future professionals representing a cross section of US universities.
Read More
The sky is not falling, but to extend the analogy, the weather for hearing healthcare is changing dramatically. In fact, digital momentum is changing every field and every industry, and it will especially threaten anything that is relatively easy to duplicate. Thus, authors Chistopher Schweitzer and Mark Kaal suggest that the future of hearing healthcare will hinge not on product types or even product categories, but rather on those processes that incorporate a wider and better scope of patient services and counseling.
Read More
The traditional model for serving patients allows for little differentiation for factors such as severe hearing loss, cognitive decline, physical limitations, and dexterity problems, which may end up being unfair to both the consumer and the clinician.
Read More
We may be better able to help patients when we listen not only to their direct statements, but also to the offhand remarks they make that can offer insight into their deeper thoughts, which can often guide us on the path to better communication and a better treatment plan.
Read More
Problems may occur when we or the patient focus solely on a particularly attractive new hearing technology. We may forget that technology, while important, is no substitute for clinical expertise and common sense. A blend of expertise, patient participation, and technology will help us stay on track.
Read More
Fear can be a good thing. It can help us sharpen our skills, remain careful and competent when performing procedures, and look beyond protocols to explore other questions we should be asking our patients.
Read More
Hearing care professionals must communicate at a number of levels. Informational and motivational counseling help us move people along with their treatment plan, but we should consider the methods we use to ensure there is effective communication.
Read More
It is not easy to bring patients into the clinic these days. So when a patient does walk through the door of your office, you want to give them an exceptional customer experience. Establishing trust, making the necessary tweaks to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction (delight) at every step, and laying the groundwork for future patient advocacy creates long-term value with your patient, and long-term dividends for your business.
Read More
Hearing is important, but not necessarily a priority for many of the people we see. If people have gone to the trouble to seek services from us, there is an unspoken message that hearing may be a priority for them, but they may not know it as such. Dennis Van Vliet suggests that, if we can shape our conversation with patients into a discussion of activities in their life that are important to them, it may not be necessary to force the question of how important hearing is to them.
Read More
Dr Van Vliet discusses how helping patients achieve better hearing requires a process with many elements: recognizing a problem, learning about it, doing something, and coming to the understanding that solutions are complex and often incomplete.
Read More
Dr Van Vliet discusses how our experience and knowledge base is critical to practicing effectively. However, if we do not continue to learn about and adopt new techniques, tools, and products that are appropriate for our practices, we fall behind in our responsibilities.
Read More
Dr Van Vliet discusses how we can help patients define what they want. They may only know that they are annoyed by their inability to understand speech in certain environments. If we build an approach that patients see is unique and specific for their needs, it may help shape their perception of the outcome.
Read More
Dr Van Vliet discusses how things we may feel to be absolute truths can turn out to be different than what we learned and, just like tying our shoes, we must open our minds to adjusting how we do things for better patient outcomes.
Read More
This article explains why the waiting room of your practice is crucial to setting the tone for patients, and how you can dramatically impact and positively address the emotional triggers and questions of first-time patients.
Read More
Author Von Hansen uses a case example to illustrate how a hearing care professional can insert 4 objectives into a patient history consult to transform it into a vital component of the counseling protocol.
Read More