The doctor will e-mail you now

Putting aside jokes about waiting room magazines older than the Nixon Administration, and physicians so disinterested that they practice with “one hand on the doorknob,” there are two realities of the doctor/patient relationship today that are downright vexing.

Reality number one is that true doctor/patient relationships are rare. With patients being forced to change doctors when their employer changes insurance companies, the days portrayed in Norman Rockwell’s art are long gone.

Reality number two is that declining reimbursements and rising malpractice rates mean doctors have to cram more patients into their calendars than ever before. And, when one patient takes more of the doctor’s time than was allotted, the dominoes begin to fall and every patient after that has an even longer wait and less face time.

“Enough!” (or words to that effect) said Dr. Alan Dappen, a Washington, D.C.-area primary care physician.

In an effort to lessen the pain for patients and physician alike, Dr. Dappen founded Doctokr (“Doc Talker”). In short, Doctokr patients put $150 into an account. Whenever they need service for routine things, they can call or e-mail the doctor and pay $5 per minute for a consultation. No insurance. No co-pay. No hassles. The typical patient can get about five “visits” for his or her initial investment.

For those patients who need to actually be “seen,” Dr. Dappen has an office where he has limited hours, and he actually makes house calls when the need arises. And, because he’s retained his connections to labs and other necessities of primary care, he can still manage the entire care process for almost all his patients – no matter what their malady.

So far, he’s got 300 patients signed up and, of course, a whole host of physician detractors who sniff, “Well, I know that I wouldn’t prescribe something without seeing a patient...”

Whether you think Dr. Dappen’s approach is revolutionary, or you think Hippocrates is rolling over in his grave, Doctokr is a solution that is less about medicine than it is about putting the desires of customers (in this case, patients) first.

What does this suggest for communicators?

• No sacred cows. One statement that kills progress is, “We’ve always done it this way.” How many communication tools do you have that have outlived their usefulness? Only your audience knows for sure. When was the last time you asked?
• Consider all the possibilities. The other major progress killer is, “We’ve never done it that way.” Dr. Dappen isn’t listening to his colleagues; he’s listening to his patients (and to his heart). After all, just jazzing up the waiting room or sending out a patient newsletter isn’t going to solve the communications and service problems – and it isn’t going to differentiate his practice.
• Be willing to fail. Anyone who knows the economics of medicine knows you can’t survive with only 300 patients, so Dr. Dappen’s new concept isn’t a success yet. He might start a trend, or he might simply inspire someone (including himself) to come up with something better. Whatever the case, he was willing to try – and to risk failure. In other words, be smart – but be bold.

The message? You can only tweak communications strategies and tactics just so long. Everything has a life cycle. Don’t be shy about pulling the plug and starting over when it’s time.