How to Use Hand-Held Devices in NP Consultations

Those of you who have worked with me know how I stress the use of visuals to communicate value in your business. Your deliverable, in the eyes of the patient, is the finished result, which is why the use of visual tools in your presentations is central to winning cases. It is also why I have become, increasingly, an advocate of having a practice video to present the value of your services. There are a number of uses for this medium, some of which I will address in future posts. Today’s post focuses on how and when to use this resource during the patient visit – and offers a new twist.

I had the pleasure of working this week with one of my client practices in a reinforcement training session. At the client’s request, I came in a day early to observe the doctors and to gauge the TC’s retention of my training. It was during one of these NP consults that I observed one small aspect of this step that was so significant, I felt compelled to share it with my readers.

There came a point in the TC’s interaction with the patient family when she needed to leave the meeting and prep the doctor. Nothing unusual there. And, because this group has a practice video, she took this opportunity to start the video for the family to watch. This was where things got interesting – it was how the video was presented to the family that got my attention.

Instead of playing the video on a computer screen at her desk, she handed the family an iPad. In other words, the decision-maker was holding the device in their lap, instead of staring at it from a distance. And my, did that change things.

Talk about having someone’s complete and undivided attention.

As a consultant who teaches practices how to gain and hold the interest level of practice visitors, this tool is unparalleled, simply because by having to hold it, the user is completely immersed in whatever happens to be on the screen. The next time you are on an airplane, look around you, and you will see what I am talking about. I am in the business of helping you to gain and hold the attention of your practice visitors, and I’ve seen nothing that holds attention like a hand-held device. Especially this one.

I am seeing iPads more and more frequently in the reception area of client practices, and there are a myriad of benefits for having them for both adults and children, not the least of which is eliminating the need for space for a game room. Perhaps you should take a further look, now, at how to integrate this tool into your consultation process to maximum effect. My expectation is that you will be doing this at some point in the future, whether you want to or not. The marketplace will eventually demand it.