Connected Paediatrics Weekly: Attention to detail

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Dad Joke: Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet? Because they can spend years at C.

This week I got an absolute masterclass in attention to detail and what takes to run a memorable practice. I made the great trek from the south up to London to spend the day with Dr Suraj Vitesh, dental surgeon, at Happy Kids Tongue Tie and Breathing centre.

I have a hard time describing the entrance and waiting room but suffice to say it involved an actual pirate ship. Anyway, once the receptionist managed to drag me away from the waiting area, I was ushered up to the tongue tie floor and had a chat with Dr Vitesh. I came to find I was the first chiro who had been at his practice and he was keen to find out how we approached these children…I can’t quite remember the next 30 minutes but I do know it involved me talking….a lot.

And then we saw a full morning of patients.

My first realization is that I had just met another grown man that knows as many Peppa Pig episodes by heart as I do. He was involved and invested in each case. He knew names, grandmothers, sisters, brothers and pets. He was a part of these people’s lives.

As brilliant as it is to watch someone who is truly invested in their patients work…this isn’t the reason I am writing this newsletter. The reason I am writing this is because as the morning drew on I realized that his practice is based on systems. Big systems, small systems….a system for each eventuality.

Let’s take the 3 year old new patient who walked into the wanting nothing to do with him…and remember his job is to get her sit still and open her mouth! (And we think we have it tough) but the system was already ticking over even before she walked in the door.

“Did you get your bangle?” he asked her. She cocked her head to the side and proffered her right arm a little…and there on it was a tiny starfish bangle from the receptionist (who had seen this coming and set the system in motion).

“There’s more of those for people who jump up on the bench and watch Peppa pig”

Hell…I mean…I almost jumped up there!!! She’s lucky she was quick.

Hand on her shoulder he explained that she could just watch and he would speak to her mum and ask if he could examine her. The psychology in this is really next level.

Another 3 bangles followed but the terrified little girl who had slunk into the room had her mouth so wide open even I could see what was going on from across the room.

The appointment ended with a gift bag which included instructions for what mum needed to do before the next appointment.

Whilst they had been speaking the doc’s assistant had been busy on the PC, I only found out later that as something was mentioned, like doc saying that he thought bodywork would be helpful, she had been sourcing the closest body worker to the patients address and added it to the email they would receive when they got home.

The systems were evident in returning patients saying things like “ it will all be in the email I’m sure” and "yes, I got all the exercises last time thank you".

This attention to detail is designed to make the in office experience as easy and pain free for parents as possible. Every eventuality is covered and it makes for a stress free experience.

What can you do in your office to make these experiences 1. More memorable 2. More efficient 3. More thought out.

I have a few ideas….

Chat soon,

Mike

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