Since we are going to go down the path of the best non-clinical questions to ask patients, I thought I would start this first contrarian truth:  “You cannot exceed a patient’s expectations on their first visit”

Great customer service as well as a lot of motto’s are around exceeding customer’s expectations.  This laudable goal may be good in most retail and service industries but is totally inapplicable in most physical therapy situations.  Why is that?  Quite simply, most patients have no idea what to expect in physical therapy either because they have never accessed PT, never knew they had PT, or had PT at a different location than the one they are now seeking.

When it comes to freestanding outpatient centers the chances of patients having their first experience is even greater.  I often tell my co-workers (all private practice PTs) that every private practice could be eliminated tomorrow and most of the population would not know the difference because they never knew it existed in the first place.

Although I am not a fan of patient satisfaction in PT (more on that in later posts), two studies Roush SE and Sonstroem RJ (Development of the Physical Therapy Outpatient Satisfaction Survey (PTOPS). Phys Ther. 1999;79:159-170.as well as Linder-Pelz, S. U. (1982). “Toward a theory of patient satisfaction.” Soc Sci Med 16(5): 577-82) have expanded on this concept and have listed the reasons that patient’s often times do not have an expectation for PT or if they do it is based on a misconception:

Physical therapy intervention is a small and relatively infrequent encounter in the health care arena

Interaction takes longer than their typical physician visit

Frequency of PT visits is higher than most other medical courses of treatment

Therapy usually requires the patient’s active participation

Therapy may cause pain and may be perceived as physically threatening

So, the bottom line in PT is that if you want to exceed a patient’s expectation-do it on the second visit, it is much easier!  Or, ask two of the best questions that you can on the first encounter:

Have you ever had physical therapy before (if so, tell me about it)?

AND

What are your expectations regarding your physical therapy experience at this clinic?

It is much easier to manage expectations than it is to exceed them.

Thoughts?

Larry