Practitioner-Patient Communication with Wellevate®
The practitioner-patient relationship is sacred. Patients share their fears, desires, and sometimes embarrassing health issues in the hope of getting help. Many patients not only discuss physical concerns, but also delve into the mental, emotional, and spiritual realms. With the emergence of terms like “biopsychosocial medicine” and “relationship-centered care,” more and more branches of medicine are recognizing the importance of the practitioner-patient relationship.
Studies have found that when practitioners are more genuine and empathetic with their patients, clinical outcomes improve. There is no single, foolproof way to develop strong relationships with patients. Each practitioner’s style is personal and unique. But the simple acts of listening and reflecting with sincerity will go far in building trust with patients. And suggesting protocols that make patients feel better—especially when no other practitioner has been able to achieve that before—will strengthen your relationship even more.
Although face-to-face interactions lay the foundation for therapeutic relationships, communication between visits can build upon that foundation. Many practitioners have found that having a personalized online dispensary can help facilitate that communication and enhance relationships on an ongoing basis. Emerson Ecologics’ online dispensary platform, Wellevate, includes three key features that help foster the practitioner-patient relationship.
1. PERSONALIZED RECOMMENDATIONS. Patients sometimes leave after an office visit with too much information to remember. That’s why they need to see their protocols in writing and be able to access them with ease. Wellevate allows you to enter personalized protocols for each patient, including specific supplement brands and usage instructions. Not only does this feature remind patients of exactly what you said to them in the office, but they’ll also never lose their protocol sheet—all they need to do is log in.
2. NOTES AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS. Sometimes you want to provide detailed information in greater depth than you’re able to describe during a visit. You might have instructions for completing specialty lab tests, guidelines for administering at-home therapies, or images of how to perform exercises at home. Wellevate allows you to add notes and educational materials to a patient platform. Your patients can then access this information anytime, anywhere from their laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
3. ORDER HISTORY. Do you ever wonder what products your patients actually purchase once they leave your office? With Wellevate, you know. You can view each patient’s order history to see if they’ve bought the products you recommended. You can also see if they’re buying additional products, which may reveal concerns you didn’t know about. Both of these tools allow you to follow up with a patient to be sure you’re providing the best care possible.
Jaclyn Chase had the pleasure of speaking with Maureen Dunn, ND, about this important topic. Dunn, who works with patients both in person and remotely, made the switch from a different online dispensary to Wellevate a few months ago. She offers some interesting insights and advice about finding and using the online dispensary that works best for you.
JACLYN CHASSE: Can you please tell us a bit about your practice?
MAUREEN DUNN: I’ve been in practice since 2012. I had been practicing in North Carolina in an integrative environment with MDs, NDs, and others until recently. I just opened a new practice in New York, and currently maintain both an in-person and a telehealth-style practice. On top of that, I offer concierge services for some of my patients.
CHASSE: You recently switched from another online dispensary to Wellevate. What led you to make the switch?
DUNN: I’ve been on Wellevate for about two months now. Prior to that, I used another online dispensary platform for several years. It was OK, but my patients didn’t love it; I found the practitioner side to be clumsy; and most importantly, there were a rising number of shipping errors that were affecting my patients’ ability to get the products they needed. I explored Wellevate because of their offer at the time, and decided to make the move.
CHASSE: Can you share a bit about why you’ve chosen to use an online dispensary in your practice?
DUNN: I have a lot of options for patients to get supplements from my practice. I have an in-office dispensary for patients who like to refill during their visits. I also do a lot of drop shipping, and offer Wellevate for patients who prefer to self-serve. Hundreds of my patients are using the online dispensary option. Wellevate reduces the cost of dealing with supplements in-office, and the burden of staffing to support the in-office dispensary. It’s nice because it encourages patients to self-serve. I think the online dispensary option is really necessary to compete with Amazon. Amazon is definitely the biggest risk to my business (from a supplement perspective).
CHASSE: You have a history of success with getting patients to use your online dispensary. How do you introduce Wellevate to your patients, and what do you think encourages them to choose it instead of Amazon?
DUNN: First, I build a recommendation into Wellevate for each patient, which makes sure the actual products I’d like them to take are in their account and very clear. Next, when I introduce the treatment plan, I talk with patients about supplement quality, and specifically the potential downsides to shopping on Amazon. I get very specific and share patient stories about what they (and I) have seen when buying from Amazon. Then, I talk about Wellevate as the better option, sharing that it’s just as easy as Amazon but assures that the product is stored correctly, underwent a quality evaluation, has proper expiration dates, and overall is assured to be the best quality. Finally, I send the treatment recommendation, which has their link to get set up on Wellevate and purchase.
CHASSE: Another question a lot of practitioners ask is when to build their recommendation for a patient into Wellevate. When do you do this?
DUNN: I try to do it during the visit. If not, as soon as they leave. I want them to get the invite and recommendation right away while they’re thinking of it, and I don’t want it to get lost at the end of my workday
GETTING SET UP WITH WELLEVATE
The practitioner-patient relationship is intimate but fragile. One way to nurture relationships with patients between visits is by communicating with them through an online platform like Wellevate. Your Wellevate account can be personalized to include your logo and branding online, in emails, and on invoices. When you effectively communicate in a personalized way, you develop a following of lifelong patients who return and refer. And that’s what an integrative medical practice is all about.
To learn more about Wellevate and set up your account, visit wellevate.me.