The Five-Star Patient Experience: This Clinic’s Approach to All-Encompassing Patient Care

Creating a five-star patient experience at a dermatology clinic is more than just providing excellent medical care—it encompasses the entire patient journey from the initial contact with the practice to follow-up after treatment. In today’s healthcare industry where patients increasingly “shop” their treatment providers based on aspects of the patient experience, every interaction and exchange between practice and patient matters for driving enhanced health outcomes, increasing retention and fostering loyalty.

Located in Medford, Oregon, The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness is no stranger to providing this five-star experience for its patients. According to Joseph Atzenbeck, Chief Executive Officer for The Clinic, “A five-star dermatology experience isn’t just about care—it’s about value. Every touchpoint, from design to service, should reflect the culture of excellence you want patients to feel. Your clinic space must radiate the quality of care you provide, leaving an unforgettable mark of trust and satisfaction.” The following are five key components that constitute The Clinic’s unique five-star experience:

Be Accessible

Today’s healthcare consumers no longer “shop” for their providers based on care quality alone but consider many factors in who they decide to give their time. According to NRC Health’s 2019 Consumer Trends Report, 51 percent of the 223,000 consumers surveyed said convenience and access to care is the most important factor in choosing a healthcare provider—even above insurance coverage, provider conduct, brand reputation, and care quality. There are often roadblocks and challenges that prevent some patients from seeking the treatment they need to live a healthy life. However, The Clinic believes no patient should go without essential care.

Located in the heart of southeast Medford’s “Derm Central,” The Clinic stands as a leader, competing head-to-head with numerous practices lining the same street. Yet, while others may offer bits and pieces of modern dermatology advanced practice management services, The Clinic remains the only facility offering the full spectrum of access to care tools to improve the patient experience. Atzenbeck and his team transformed The Clinic into a digital healthcare pioneer, bridging physical and virtual accessibility to ensure patients can receive top-tier dermatological care at every stage of life—no matter their location.

With cutting edge Teledermatology services, The Clinic redefines convenience, allowing patients to seamless address skin concerns from their own homes. This revolutionary approach breaks down traditional barriers to care, extending The Clinic’s expertise beyond its walls. Complementing this, The Clinic’s online scheduling and live chat capabilities unlock the “digital front door,” delivering a next-generation healthcare experience that prioritizes patient engagement, improved access, and convenience—setting a new standard for what modern dermatology should look like.

Stay Connected with Engagement Technology

Patient engagement is a critical component to delivering a five-star customer experience. Atzenbeck knows that engaged patients are ones that feel heard, and valued, with their active participation in their own healthcare journeys and decision-making being a leading cause for increased satisfaction and compliance. Therefore, The Clinic implements innovative solutions to create a superior digital experience that mirrors the in-office culture, further enhancing the patient care experience and driving organizational growth. One way The Clinic creates this optimal experience is through its patient engagement platform Klara—a digital tool that implements automated, but personalized appointment reminders and patient recalls to keep patients engaged and in communication with their practice. These reminders and recalls signal to the patients that their time is valued, leading to an enhanced patient experience and increased satisfaction. 

While Klara is a great solution for keeping active patients compliant with care, the platform’s reach doesn’t extend to inactive or overdue patients. With their patients’ health top-of-mind, The Clinic strategically partnered with Brevium to bridge the care gap and prioritize bringing overdue patients back to the clinic for essential exams and preventative care. Using Brevium’s patented software to mine their practice management system with relevant ICD-10 and CPT codes, The Clinic can identify and re-engage its highest-priority patients according to disease state and provider availability—further optimizing practice performance and enhancing patient health outcomes. Since The Clinic went live with the software in February 2024, they’ve experienced stellar returns:

• 10,500 patients contacted using multi-channel communication—text, autocall, mailer, email, and live calls.
• 1,378 appointments scheduled.

Manage Wait Times

The Clinic’s operational efficiency relies on the mutual respect between patient and provider. “In our office, a patient’s time is just as valuable as our time,” says Atzenbeck. Healthcare administrators like Atzenbeck understand that the patient experience is significantly influenced by time spent in the waiting room and when providers don’t respect their patient’s schedule and vice versa, frustrations arise and satisfaction falls. However, Atzenbeck and the staff at The Clinic run a structured practice based on mutual respect and showing up on time, increasing practice efficiency and ensuring patients receive timely care. By setting expectations and utilizing appointment reminders to notify patients of standard procedure and etiquette, The Clinic guarantees its patients aren’t wasting away in the waiting room, but rather efficiently using their time at The Clinic to address skin concerns and enhance health outcomes.

Atzenbeck recognizes that patient care goes beyond the time spent in the waiting room—it’s about eliminating the frustrating weeks and months patients often ensure just to secure an appointment. The Clinic puts patients first by dramatically reducing wait times, often seeing new patients within two weeks or even offering same-day appointments. For those requiring surgery, The Clinic ensures scheduling in less than a month, depending on the urgency of the care.

Through advanced technology, The Clinic offers patients real-time opportunities to move up the queue when cancellations arise, making sure no valuable time is wasted. By strategically employing a larger number of providers based on patient demand, The Clinic ensures flexibility and prompt access to care, proving that their patients’ time, health, and peace of mind are their top priorities.

Mastering wait times and clinic flow isn’t just a challenge—it’s a relentless pursuit of efficiency. The Clinic meets this head-on with Brevium’s Busyness Report, a powerful tool that gives immediate insight into scheduling performance. This enables the team to swiftly adjust workflows, optimize provider utilization, or onboard additional providers when needed. By harnessing Brevium’s patented solutions, The Clinic ensures that patients are matched with the right provider, focusing on those who need care the most, and bringing them back into the clinic without delay. This is precision healthcare, driven by data and designed for patient-first care.

Provide High-Quality Care

The doctors and physician associates at The Clinic are board-certified dermatology specialists that are passionate about crafting care plans that meet and exceed their patients’ needs. The Clinic’s providers are highly trained experts in their field and constantly call upon their years of experience to create personalized care plans and deliver effective treatments to help their patients achieve the healthiest skin possible. Their collective background and experience coupled with access to the best technology the dermatology industry has to offer ensures they can deliver the care patients both want and need—even for the most challenging cases. These modern dermatology devices are not only less invasive than current popular treatments but have also proven to be more effective in treating dangerous skin conditions. The following are just a few examples of how The Clinic has invested in innovative technology to improve patient care and the overall treatment experience:

• Photodynamic Therapy (PDT):The Clinic was one of the first dermatology practices on the West Coast to use PDT technology to treat various skin conditions. Utilizing a photosensitizing agent (aminolaevulinic acid or ALA) and a light source (Blu-U or RhodoLED XL) to target precancerous cells and bacteria in the skin, PDT helps patients with conditions like inflammatory acne, sebaceous hyperplasia and precancerous lesions (actinic keratoses) achieve desired results and enhance their quality of life.

• GentleCure Image-Guided Superficial Radiation Therapy (IG-SRT):The Clinic is the only dermatology practice in Southern Oregon that uses GentleCure IG-SRT, a groundbreaking skin cancer treatment that incorporates ultrasound imaging to allow the doctor to identify the cancer, target the tumor and progressively watch it shrink over consecutive visits. This technology allows for a less invasive procedure, as the treatment doesn’t involve the need for anesthesia, incisions, stitches, or reconstructive surgery. Further, clinical studies prove GentleCure IG-SRT’s effectiveness over Mohs surgery in treating conditions like basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, ensuring patients experience enhanced outcomes while preserving their appearance. 

Another unique way The Clinic prioritizes high-quality patient care is through accurate and timely diagnoses, believing efficient processes and quicker turnarounds will lead to better patient health outcomes and optimized clinic flow. By implementing digital dermatopathology (or “dermpath”), The Clinic collaborates with dermopathologists across the country to turn around lab results in seven to ten days on average, whereas the average for most labs exceeds two to four weeks.

Be Inclusive

The Clinic is an equal opportunity practice that prioritizes delivering exceptional patient care above all else. Not only do they accept most insurance plans, but The Clinic uniquely accepts VA patients within 150 miles for veterans who live too far from a local VA or can’t receive the treatment they need at their local VA. “All of our owners have ties to the U.S. military,” said Atzenbeck. “Veteran patients can trust they will always feel at home [at The Clinic] and be treated with the utmost understanding and care.” As a veteran himself, Atzenbeck knows the significance of offering this kind of accessible care to veterans—further exemplifying The Clinic’s dedication to providing the highest quality dermatologic care to all its patients.

Conclusion

The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness is the gold standard for delivering five-star dermatologic and aesthetic care. They understand that their brand and community culture matters, as it becomes the ultimate representation of their company’s values and care quality. This fact especially applies to the dermatology industry where patients turn to their care providers to address sensitive, often urgent skin care needs. With years of experience in patient relationship management, Atzenbeck “meticulously designed a community atmosphere where patients feel valued, understood and cared for throughout their entire patient journey.” Better yet, this system is one of continuous improvement, with Atzenbeck always searching for innovative solutions like Brevium to better the patient experience and improve patient care. By establishing a standard of excellence that scales both the digital and in-person experience, The Clinic is a patient-centric care setting that is not only unique in the Rogue Region, but throughout the entire dermatology space.

Do you want to revolutionize patient engagement in your own practice? Schedule a demo to see how Brevium can craft a unique patient reactivation strategy that enhances your practice’s patient experience.