The Dermatologist-Patient Relationship Matthew H. Kanzler, MD Clinical Professor Assoc. Residency Program Director Stanford University Dept of Dermatology Chief of Dermatology Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

Conflict of Interest Statement I have no conflicts of interest to report I receive no money from any company or industry for anything I am on no speaker bureaus I am not a paid consultant

Importance of Office Staff The appointment starts with the first phone call, and ends with the checkout process MD-patient interaction is small portion of overall appointment experience Hire personalities, not résumés Utilize Medical Assistants!

Efficient Office Flow Realistic scheduling templates Keep patients informed of delays longer than 15 minutes Acknowledge delays, apologize sincerely, and proceed with visit

Components of an Efficient Dermatologist-Patient Relationship Rapport Building Collaborative Agenda Setting Elicit Patient’s Perspective Co-Create a Plan Patient Education

Rapport Building Professional appearance Warm greeting, handshake White coat Name badge Leave “dress-down” Fridays to Yahoo! Warm greeting, handshake Brief non-medical interaction Constant eye contact

Collaborative Agenda Setting Determine number & importance of all of patient’s problems up-front Confirm MA’s intake with patient “Anything else?” Prioritize Confirm with patient expectations of current visit

Elicit Patient’s Perspective Patient’s beliefs and fears Knowledge of disease, treatment “cancer, contagious, AIDS” Family or cultural influences Watch for nonverbal clues Patient’s ideas for next steps

Co-Creating a Plan Patients are more satisfied and have better outcomes when they are involved in treatment plan creation Adherence to Tx plan dependent on: Financial resources Social resources

Co-Creating a Plan Agree on goals of care, next steps, role of patient & family members Keep plans simple at first Allow time for plan adjustment in response to patient preferences and limitations

Patient Education Patients will remember half of what you tell them Utilize MAs to provide education Provide written handouts to complement instructions Emphasize preventative measures/ behavioral changes