patients can make or destroy you.

if you have treated a patient well, he/she may tell his/her circle of friends & thereby improve your referral rate.

conversely, the patient may also speak badly about you & the reverse occurs.

this actually happened & could have been a back-fire....

patient (speaking aloud) : doctor, doctor! you remember you operated on my mother 3 years ago? she died la!

doctor : ????

(later, the said patient went on to clarify that the operation was successful but her mother eventually died of old age)

fortunately, the conversation did not take place in a crowded clinic room or else the doctor's reputation would have been tarnished, though of no fault of the doctor.