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The patient experience does not begin at check-in. It begins the moment someone hears your name.

In this episode of TouchPoints: Moments that Matter in Healthcare, Melissa Gilkes-Smith sits down with Ancil Lea, founder of Ancil Lea Consulting Co., to explore Initial Exposure, the first pillar of the Nine Pillars of Patient Experience Framework.

Before a patient ever calls your office, schedules an appointment, or walks through your door, they are already forming an opinion about your practice. They search your name, scan your reviews, visit your website, check your Google Business Profile, look at your social media, and decide whether your organization feels credible, accessible, and trustworthy.

Melissa and Ancil discuss why this early decision point matters so much in healthcare, where trust is fragile, and first impressions carry real weight. They explore what patients are actually looking for online, how to evaluate your website through the eyes of a first-time patient, why online reviews should be treated as operational data, and how inaccurate digital information can create friction before the patient journey even begins.

This conversation also examines the connection between branding and patient experience. Your brand is not just what you say about your practice. It is what patients consistently experience. When your digital presence promises compassion, convenience, or access, your operations have to deliver on that promise.

This episode is for healthcare leaders, practice managers, marketers, physicians, and anyone responsible for creating a patient experience that earns trust before the first phone call.

You can connect with Ancil Lea on LinkedIn, or visit his website, ancillea.com.