The 15-Word Email That Reveals a Crack in Your Practice
Author: Ben Dudley
Date: August 5, 2025
You’re between cases when you see an urgent message from your practice manager about a patient’s post-op query. You quickly fire back a reply confirming the situation is under control and move on to your next patient. You’ve solved the problem efficiently.
Or so you think. The next day, that same patient calls back, more anxious than before. Your team, it turns out, had no new information to give them.
So, what went wrong? This common scenario reveals a hidden crack in many private practices: the gap between clinical assessment and administrative action.
Medical business Mistakes
The Anatomy of a Communication Breakdown
This exact situation is one we see play out time and again. A surgeon, let’s call him Dr Evans, received a message about a patient worried about their recovery. His team needed guidance on what to communicate back.
Dr Evans, an expert clinician focused on the medical facts, replied with the clinical bottom line—something like:
“This is a normal part of the recovery process.
The symptoms are as expected.”
From a doctor’s viewpoint, this is a perfect summary. It’s accurate, efficient, and addresses the core clinical question. But from an administrative viewpoint, it’s a dead end. It gave the team an update, but it gave them zero instructions. They were left wondering: Should we call the patient back? Should we add this to the notes? Should we tell them to book another appointment?
Unsure of their next move, they chose the safest option: they did nothing. The patient, hearing only silence, assumed the worst.
The Real Source of Patient and Team Friction
This translation gap is a hidden source of friction in most specialist practices. It’s born from two conflicting styles of communication. As a medical specialist, you are trained to communicate with other doctors in what we call “Doctor’s Shorthand”: brief, data-driven, and loaded with assumed context.
Your administrative team, however, needs clear, executable instructions. They are not clinicians. They cannot and should not interpret your clinical notes to formulate patient advice. When faced with ambiguity, they will almost always default to inaction to avoid the risk of giving incorrect information.
This is where patient trust erodes. Not in your medical skill, but in the operational reliability of your practice. It leaves patients feeling like they are in an information vacuum, and it leaves your team feeling powerless and inefficient.
The Solution: A 3-Step System for Closing the Communication Loop
The solution is to build a system that bridges this communication gap. It’s about making your clinical intent clear and executable for your non-clinical team, ensuring the loop is always closed with the patient.
Use
“Action Title” in Your Replies
Start every internal message to your team with a clear, one-word action title: “ADVISE,” “NOTE,” or “BOOK.”
- ADVISE the patient that some discomfort is normal and to continue with the prescribed pain relief.
- NOTE for file: I have reviewed the results, no action needed at this time.
- BOOK a follow-up appointment for next Tuesday.
This simple habit instantly eliminates ambiguity and tells your team exactly what to do.
Create
“If-Then” Communication Protocols
For your top 3-5 most common clinical queries, work with your team to create simple, pre-approved communication scripts.
This empowers your team with a safe and reliable response.
Run
5-Minute “Open Loops” Huddle
At the end of each clinic day, hold a 5-minute stand-up meeting or a dedicated Slack channel with a single agenda item: “Which patient communications are still open?”
This is the ultimate safety net for your practice’s reputation.
Expert Practice Management
Bridging the Gap with Expert Practice Management
While implementing these systems yourself is a great first step, the reality is that maintaining them requires consistent time and oversight, two things busy doctors rarely have. This is why outsourcing your practice management to an expert provider like Zento Group is so effective.
We don’t just handle your billing; we become the operational engine and communication hub for your entire practice.
An expert practice management provider can:
- Act as the professional liaison that translates your “Doctor’s Shorthand” into clear, empathetic communication for patients.
- Flawlessly execute your instructions, ensuring the communication loop is always closed without you needing to follow up.
- Proactively manage patient enquiries, freeing your time and mental energy to focus exclusively on clinical work.
- Implement and manage the systems described above, creating a bulletproof operational framework for your practice.
Ultimately, working with an expert practice management provider gives you a team dedicated to ensuring your clinical expertise is matched by your operational reliability.
Clear Communication and Practice Management with Zento
Eliminate the administrative friction that erodes patient trust and adds to your workload. Designed for busy medical specialists, Zento’s practice management services take the pain out of private practice by ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
Learn more about how our experienced team can establish seamless communication systems for your practice.