Conversations with Professor David Wilkinson, Episode 2 - Mr Paul Elmslie

Welcome to our podcast series on medical business management, Conversations with Professor David Wilkinson! In this episode, Professor David Wilkinson (Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Macquarie University) speaks with Paul Elmslie (Founder and CEO of HealthCert Education and the National Skin Cancer Centres) about how to deliver a really high quality skin cancer service for your patients and measure patient satisfaction.

Prof Wilkinson and Paul speak about how this goes beyond the standard clinical care provided by general practitioners and primary care doctors.

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In everything we do, we expect good quality products and services – whether it be getting our car serviced, having a hair cut or visiting the doctor. We look for services that deliver what we need while also being professional, on time, clean and COVID-Safe. This podcast looks at the importance of the service patients receive and how doctors can provide a really good service outside of the clinical work, and how this is measured and managed.

It is important to note that patients have choices – they don’t have to see you. And a patient with a poor experience has the ability to tell tens of thousands of other potential patients about their situation via online platforms. Paul talks about how doctors can manage the patient journey – all the way from booking their appointment to the recall and follow-up stages – to minimise patient complaints, create raving fans, and ultimately deliver an exceptional patient experience.

Everyone plays a role in patient satisfaction – from the receptionist to the doctor and beyond. A great way of measuring this patient satisfaction is through a Net Promoter Score (NPS) that collects feedback from patients immediately after their appointment. This kind of data is essential for understanding what is working well in your practice and what areas need to be improved. Paul discusses how the NPS works and how the data can be used to improve the overall patient experience in your practice.

Did you know: People are 10 times more likely to share a negative experience with their friends than a positive experience.

Importantly, Paul says that the key thing you need to do as a doctor or practice manager when managing poor patient feedback is to show that you are listening, that you care, and that you are going to take action. This helps to diffuse the situation and can convert a patient from a “detractor” into a “promoter”.

About Presenters

Professor David Wilkinson is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Macquarie University. He is a registered general practitioner and public health medicine specialist. Since 2004, Professor Wilkinson’s clinical work has focused on skin cancer medicine in primary care. He has published research papers on the topic, designed and led development of the only Master of Medicine degree in skin cancer, and helped develop and present a suite of skin cancer short courses delivered by HealthCert Education.

Paul Elmslie is the Founder and CEO of HealthCert Education and the National Skin Cancer Centres. Paul is a pioneer of the subspecialised skin cancer clinic model and has built a network of dedicated skin cancer referral centres and training facilities across Australia. Paul has owned or operated about 28 skin cancer clinics in his 20+ years of experience.