Patient Reported Outcomes
“The patient’s experience is key for us.” Dr. Drew Rossi | USA Periodontal Health Professionals LLC, Houston Interview conducted by Verena Vermeulen
For patients it’s not only the outcome that matters but also the convenience. Dr. Drew Rossi gave us insights into how he educates patients, why he switched to non-autologous grafts and why he invests time in lecturing and mentoring. If you need medical or dental treatment, are you someone who wants to know everything about the therapy, or are you someone who completely trusts your health care professional? Dr. Rossi: I tend to be very exacting – that’s my personality. I tend to research things, talk with my healthcare colleagues and educate myself.
Do you Google diagnoses and treatments? Sometimes. But what I really like to do is talk to colleagues. I don’t think you can trust everything you see on the internet.
How about your patients – do they have specific expectations? A lot of them do. Many of our pateints are referrals. Often their primary care dentists have already explained what I do and what I will probably recommend. And many of them are well educated professionals themselves. I don’t like them YouTubing treatments because this tends to frighten them away. But they do it anyway.
Could you give an example? The Pinhole Technique is very well marketed in the US. A lot of people come and request this treatment, because they saw it on TV or on the internet. It’s the same
“We will not be scrutinizing about half a millimeter soft tissue gain any more, but about patient experience and comfort.”
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with other soft tissue augmentation procedures. I am always honest with my patients. If I am not convinced of a procedure or biommaterial because it is not backed by research, I don’t offer it.
What is key for you when you explain treatments to your patients? To be aware of their wishes and how they respond. We can talk about scientific literature or the amount of keratinized tissue needed, but they tend not to respond to that. Most patients respond to emotions, like before and after pictures. For example, if they are coming in for soft tissue treatments, they want to look better, and they want to reach this goal with a convenient procedure. Sometimes they are also afraid. Fear is a frequent problem in dental offices, so we have to deal with this. The patient’s experience is key for us.
