7 Keys To the Best Bedside Manner (in a Pandemic)

October 30, 2020 Melanie Pylant

Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels

I don’t envy doctors today.

Starved for time, you feel the constant pull between being fully present with your patients while concentrating on making sound medical decisions. And doing it all without getting behind schedule.

Taking the time needed to connect with your patients is already difficult in today’s insurance-driven, survey-praising, tech-focused medical model.

But 2020 has brought additional challenges to being fully present with your patients (thank you, COVID-19).

Practicing during a pandemic means your smile is covered by a mask and social distancing keeps you at arm’s length. Fortunately, there are small things you can do to make a big impact in connecting with your patients and building trust. And they can be successfully incorporated in-person and virtually.

Let’s dive into why bedside manner is so crucial, and how to keep it in tip-top shape — even during a pandemic.

Why You Should Care About Your Bedside Manner

1. Patient Satisfaction

It’s no surprise that a good bedside manner leads to improved patient satisfaction. Patients naturally feel more comfortable with a doctor who’s friendly, compassionate, and a good communicator. And it makes the whole experience of having to go to the doctor so much more pleasant.

But did you know that bedside manner is the most important theme in online patient reviews, second only to doctor’s skill? (1) Dr. Brad Bowman, Healthgrades chief medical officer, says it best — “Patients don’t just want to see a doctor, they want to be seen.”(2)

Happy patients will keep coming back to you for their care. Since patient satisfaction is such a huge part of maintaining a successful practice, it simply can’t be neglected.

2. Patient Outcomes

But the effect of a doctor’s bedside manner goes beyond patient satisfaction. Evidence shows that a good bedside manner actually leads to better patient outcomes.

A 2014 study found that a positive doctor-patient relationship can have significant effects on health outcomes including:

Pain
Obesity
Hypertension
Diabetes
Asthma
Pulmonary infections (3)

It’s crazy to think that the way you act toward a patient can actually affect their health.

But I’m sure you’ve noticed throughout your career that patients are willing to be more open with doctors who connect with them on a personal level. Talking about your health concerns isn’t easy. A doctor who’s visibly in a hurry or emotionally distant will shut the door to open communication and close the narrow window of time to build trust. And nobody wants to be vulnerable with a doctor they don’t trust.

And if a patient doesn’t trust you, why would they follow your recommendations? Or recommend you to a friend?

3. Your Bottom Line

A good bedside manner can also affect your practice’s bottom line.

“You can be flawless with the ‘book’ part of medicine, making the right diagnosis and treatment, but if the patient can’t relate to you and doesn’t trust you, they may go looking for another doctor,” said Clifford Jeng, MD – medical director of The Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. (4)

And if patients are leaving your practice, you inevitably will be losing money. According to Forbes, it costs five times more to attract a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. (5) So you’ll save a lot of money just by keeping your current patients happy.

Here are seven ways to ensure your BEST bedside manner is always on display.

How To Have the Best Bedside Manner

1. Call your patient by name

As Dale Carnegie says, “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” A person’s name is the window to their identity and individuality.

So, remembering your patient’s name and acknowledging it acknowledges their humanity.

Calling your patients by name reminds them that you view them as a person, not a number. Using a person’s name also grabs their attention and creates the impression that you’re fully engaged with them.

It’s worth mentioning that there’s no need to overdo it. Saying their name before every sentence, for example, could be viewed as an attempt to manipulate. Calling them by name at the beginning and end of your visit is sufficient.

And don’t forget to greet and engage any family members that accompany your patient. It can help you build rapport with patients by showing respect for the people they care about most.

2. Smile

Yes, it shows through your mask. While your patients may not be able to see your mouth, a genuine smile can be seen in your eyes and your voice.

Psychologist Paul Ekman, who studies facial expressions, described a genuine smile as causing a narrowing and wrinkling around the eyes and a lifting of the cheeks. A true smile engages the orbicularis oculi muscle around the eye, while a fake smile does not. (6)

People can also “hear” when someone is smiling. According to Ursula Hess, a facial expression and emotion researcher at Humboldt University in Berlin, a smile changes the shape of the mouth, causing the voice to sound brighter. (7)

So for goodness sake, leave the fake smiles at home and give your patients a true, genuine smile, so they can see and hear it even with your mask on.

3. Make eye contact

At a time when our mouths are covered, the eyes are more important than ever.

Our eyes indicate where our attention is. Giving your patient good eye contact conveys that they have your full attention.

Body language expert Janine Driver – founder and president of the Body Language Institute in Washington, D.C. – says it best. When you fail to make eye contact, “You are blocking how you are feeling from the world. When we can’t see your eyes, we can’t interpret your emotions, and if we can’t interpret your emotions, we are left with uncertainty and this uncertainty leads to us not trusting you and us feeling uncomfortable around you.” (8)

Enough said.

4. Sit down

Sitting down means more to patients than you might expect. Dr. Lisa Doggett, Family Physician and Texas Medical Director for AxisPoint Health says, “Standing makes you look rushed.” Taking a seat helps put your patient at ease. (9)

Sitting down also puts you at eye level with patients, avoiding the perception that you’re “talking down” to them. Plus, most surprisingly, sitting gives the perception that you’re in the room longer than you actually are. (10)

5. Say “tell me more”

Some patients are used to their doctors being in a rush. Others have even experienced being cut off by their doctor while sharing about their health concerns. So it comes across as pretty refreshing when a doctor instead asks for more information.

Ask clarifying questions. Encourage the patient to share more information. That extra two minutes of open dialogue may provide the clue you need to help them get better.

6. Explain the plan of care

One of the most frequently cited complaints about doctors in online reviews is poor communication. Specifically, when doctors prescribe treatments and order tests with no explanation of why.

Take the time to explain your findings and the treatments you’re recommending in a way your patient can understand:

Explain why you’re ordering specific tests
Explain why you’re prescribing certain treatments
Explain the possible side effects of any treatment you’re recommending
Be sure to ask if they have any questions about it

By explaining your thought process, your patients will have more understanding of the reasoning behind your recommendations – leading to greater trust in your decisions and increased compliance in their plan of care.

7. Remember that your words matter now more than ever

You may not be able to hold your patient’s hand, hug them, or put your hand on their arm. But you can speak words that convey comfort and compassion – words that assure them they’re not alone and that you’re walking this road with them.

These phrases convey empathy and will go a long way toward helping your patients know you care about them:

“How are you feeling?”
“How can I make you more comfortable?”
“Does that make sense?”
“Do you have any questions?”
“I’m here for you.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to help you get better.”

Most patients are worried about their health. A comforting word from a kind doctor can go miles in relieving some of their health-related anxiety.

A Winning Combination

These are small things. But small doesn’t mean trivial. Sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest impact in someone’s life.

When your patients like you and trust you, it creates a cascading effect leading to…

MORE open communication
MORE thorough histories
MORE patient satisfaction
MORE positive online reviews
MORE patient compliance with their plan of care
MORE improved health outcomes
MORE patient retention
MORE business for you

And that’s a winning combination for everyone. So, what have you got to lose?

Remember to incorporate these seven simple tips into each and every patient visit – whether in person or online – and see if you can feel the difference. I guarantee your patients will.

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