Скачать или смотреть Dealing With a Difficult Patient

IDOC Question of the Week: How do I deal with a difficult patient/customer/client?

Here is a 3-step process for dealing with “difficult” patients, or customers if not in health care field. If you resist the urge to be defensive and follow this process, the odds of a positive outcome increase significantly. You might even create a “raving fan” who becomes a great referral source.

There’s a psychological component at play here. When someone is angry, they are emotional. When we’re emotional, we operate from a part of the brain that’s not very rational or logical (the limbic system for you neuro geeks). This is why using logic and reason during an argument is surprisingly ineffective in trying to get someone else to see things “our way.” Logical conversations come later, when both sides have calmed down and we’re operating from a different part of the brain.

When confronted by an angry patient/customer, you have to first move them from an emotional state to a logical state before they will be receptive to you. It doesn’t take long to do this, but violate the first 2 steps and the odds of a positive outcome become highly unlikely.

Relevant quote: “Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.” – Stephen Covey