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Improving Compliance Through Client Education
By: Stewart Wright, Product Manager at LifeLearn
There is a direct correlation between client compliance and client understanding. As with any product or service, clients are not likely to see value in something they cannot understand. As a result, it is critical that resources are dedicated to educating a client on the need for a particular service or product so that there will be greater acceptance.
 Building credibility
The credibility of the educator, whether it is the veterinarian or a member of the support staff, is important. In today’s world, clients are more likely to make judgments regarding a doctor’s level of knowledge on an issue by comparing it to information that they have read on the Internet.
Compliance will be minimal if the practitioner lacks credibility, fails to demonstrate thoroughness, or fails to accurately educate the client. It is valuable for clients to believe and trust that their veterinarian and associated healthcare team are their primary source of educational information.
Education therefore becomes the cornerstone of credibility. Having a solid foundation based on trust and credibility, the client will actively listen to recommendations and determine the value of such recommendations. Most clients will not be blindly accept a recommendation nor should they be expected to accept something that does not appear to be of value.
Establishing a consistent client education process that the veterinary healthcare team can follow will enhance the value of your service and lead to better compliance.
Common obstacles to educating clients:
1. Not enough time. Patient appointments are often not scheduled to allow for sufficient time to allow conversations around medical recommendations that lead to full comprehension, which is truly required for a client to feel empowered to make what can sometimes be difficult decisions. Without adequate time the client may not feel that they have the opportunity to ask questions, gain the necessary knowledge and ultimately have trust in your recommendations.
2. Lack of quality educational material. Information must be up-to-date and written specifically for the layperson, and thorough enough to ensure comprehension of the key points, but simple enough to gain acceptance. An effort should be made to create a visual image for the client to reinforce the material.
3. Not building an adequate case for compliance. Often the busy practitioner fails to build an adequate case for compliance with the recommendation. The importance of follow-up and follow-through must be communicated to the client. Clients need to understand the risk associated with not complying with recommendations, such as higher future costs and further pain and suffering, for example. Don’t hurry through these discussions, and encourage interaction. Be honest and passionate, but not pushy! You’ll likely find that with a more in-depth consultation using supporting tools and materials, clients will more often accept your recommendations with confidence.
Putting focus on building a case for your recommendations will result in a more satisfied client, better revenues from procedures and diagnostics, and most importantly better patient care. Stressing the importance of compliance to the wellbeing of the pet and the wellbeing of the client’s pocketbook will boost client perception of value and usually result in a higher level of compliance. The practitioner's ultimate goal should be to educate the client so well that the client can only arrive at one logical conclusion, that of compliance with your recommendations.
Stewart Wright, Product Manager at LifeLearn. LifeLearn is a developer of eCommunications and eMarketing tools for the veterinary industry. Their ClientEd Online solution makes educating clients easy and fully integrates with Impromed Infinity 5.0 and DVM Manager. For more information on ClientEd Online visit www.lifelearn.com/cliented.
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