Ahh the weekend, the perfect time to think about your practice
Your CA thinks you work for her, your patients are using you as a quick solution to their aches and pains (as long as insurance covers it), your new patient only wants two treatments to cure their ten year issue, and your patient in room three wants you to just listen to her gripes and resentment from the last 25 years.
Help!
No matter how counterintuitive this sounds, YOU are responsible for your own life…and practice!
Believe it or not, success depends on you having guidelines that show patients who and what you stand for.
If you don’t have guidelines for your patients, they will bring you their guidelines which include:
- Texting you their play by play analysis of your adjustments, questions, and insurance questions outside of clinical times.
- Rudeness in all its incredible forms including, but not limited to: no shows, being late, ripping you off, agreeing to recommendations with no intention of following them, running your care recommendations by their “real” doctor, using their phone over and over in your office, and those questions about other doctors diagnosis, other solutions to their issues….everything except anything you say or do.
- Lack of trust, if they don’t trust you they will not allow you to hold them accountable.
- They will not accept any new concepts including above and beyond acute care, kids, difficult cases, wellness, and will only talk about pain and symptoms.
Once you’ve been in practice for a while, this behavior becomes the standard. You’ll gradually lower your standards and let patients get their way. It’s a lot like parenting, you just get worn down.
The consequence is average clinical results, exponentially lowered income, and you will develop resentment for the very people you care for.
Just like kids that display these behaviors because you’ve allowed them to get away with it, patients will do the same. Pretty soon the word gets around that you don’t mind being walked all over.
It’s like you’ve allowed them to put a ‘kick-me’ sign on your back because you’re just another people pleaser.
Many doctors actually advertise their short-term approach to care online and make fun of DCs who handle the much more complicated cases.
Having a low patient visit average is not a merit badge, but rather a lack of guidelines in your office that allows the inmates to run the asylum.
It’s not all your patient’s fault.
Unintentionally we as doctors welcome this type of behavior by:
- Adjusting everyone on the first day
- Minimizing or completely skipping exam, x-rays, evaluation, or case history
- Allow patients to set their own recommendations and care frequency
- Being okay when patients rip you off
- Allowing them to tell you what to do (you can have that at home if you choose)
The Dog Whisperer shows us that dogs will change their behavior when new rules are presented.
In the same fashion, you can have the practice of our dream simply by changing the guidelines. You can form better relationships of trust, have better communication skills, and make sure patients understand how to be healthier for better results rather than incomplete pain relief only.
Continue to be told how to practice or create a safe space where patients want to participate in their health and don’t have to be sold, convinced, or closed…the choice is yours.
Get your life and practice back! Contact us here at TNR to start your journey.
