I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry
–Don Henley

We live in a world of losses and failures – of tragedy and of many serious issues for grave concern.

Or at least, it seems that way.  But is it true?

Certainly, horrible events happen. But the percentage of bad to good is probably very minor.   Mostly, there is an abundance of wonderful events that are constantly occurring. But are they news-worthy?

It seems that most people find bad and sensational news more interesting, and this is what our media gives us.  But too much bad news can lower our morale, dampen our spirits, and make it more difficult for us to reach our practice goals.

It happens in your practice all the time: your attention will stick on that one tough case you had a few days ago. Remember?

It has been said that: “You can’t let the negative Few outweigh the positive Many.”

Not only do you want to limit your exposure to negativity, you also want to accentuate the positive “Many.”  Here are some steps you can take to do this:

1. Notice your patients. If they seem to be doing better, tell them.
2. Compliment your patients for keeping their appointments.
3. Compliment them for attending your patient education programs.
4. Check to see if they are making any life style changes or doing their exercises. Compliment them for anything they are doing new to improve their health.
5. When they have shown significant improvement, ask them to fill out a Patient Success Survey.
a. Click here for a sample form
b. Click here for a actual success story.
c. Click here for a sample Doctor letter to patient about writing success stories.  (Note: this is for PM&A clients but is available now publicly for a limited time.)

6. Read these patient successes at your staff meetings, and displayed in your office and on your web site.

Promoting the successes of your patients efforts to improve their health has many benefits:
· It validates the work they put into improving their health and reinforces their desire to do so.
· It recognizes their accomplishments and helps identify your office as the major contributing factor to their success.
· They are more likely to promote their achievements to others and refer them to you.
· You can use their testimonies and successes to validate your services to your staff and doctors.
· You can use their written successes on your web site, newsletter, bulletin board, or other media to promote the services you provide.

We all can take for granted too many of our accomplishments, and those of others. If you do start to celebrate the wins you have, you will likely see more of them.