Use Your Voice!

Posted on by
Using your voice to help others.

(Painting by Norman Rockwell, 1943)

When you engage in work that taps your talent and fuels your passion  –  that rises out of a great need in the world that you feel drawn by conscience to meet  –  therein lies your voice, your calling, your soul’s code. (Stephen Covey)

 

For many of your patients, it may be difficult to tell how far to take precautions regarding COVID-19. Who can your patients turn to for a frank conversation and useful information?

Somewhere there is a middle ground between stockpiling hand wipes, toilet paper, and hiding in your bedroom and showing up at the gun show for a family barbecue and square dance. People are looking for reasonable answers without feeling that they are fearfully overreacting, or pridefully underacting.

You have to be that middle ground – and you can be. You do not have a boss that is beholding to Merck, or a company whose board members belong to the AMA. You are independent.

Use your voice and be a source of reason and information. Get in the conversation. You are only beholding to your patients and your community. They know your kids, and you know theirs. You are honest, thoughtful, and know that we are all in this together. You will ask your patients for their best advice on plumbing, cars, taxes, and other life needs. They will seek your advice regarding the best health for themselves and their family. You rely on them, and they rely on you – this year, now, and in the years to come.

Now is not the time to cocoon – not for you. Now is the time to speak up – to stand up.

Keep your practice open, but if not, keep communicating. Aside from seeing your patients in person, you can consider other activities that do not require face to face encounters:

  • Use email and social media to promote health tips.
  • Schedule webinars for health tips.
  • Set up video or phone consultations. 15 minutes, $45 – $100. Send follow-ups and include in patient files. Offer discounts for patients who need it.
  • Staff and doctors call patients for courtesy consultations. See how they are doing. Give them advice. Schedule them for an appointment as needed.
  • Sell supplements at a discount if you can. (Suppliers may be backlogged.)
  • Let us know about other outreach services you are providing!

You are a doctor – an educator, a leader. This applies to your team as well – they, too, are leaders and educators. Your community needs you now more than ever. Years from now, it will remember who was there, who stood up, who helped.

Use your Voice! Download the Poster Here

Always communicating,

Ed

We, too, are here to help.

Has the Coronavirus Affected Your Practice?

Posted on by

How has the Coronavirus plague been affecting you and your practice…so far?

Most offices I talk to across the country seem to be doing just fine, thank you!

I ran across  an interesting thread on a social media site for chiropractors and as a limited sample survey of how other offices are being affected, most report that they are also doing well.

I want to add a few thoughts from a marketing vantage point that might help. I am sure you are following the clinical aspects of this virus, but I have links below to articles from Bruce Lipton, Ben Lerner, and Joe Mercola that are very informative.

More importantly, a great link from our old buddy, George Carlin just to put things into perspective. So, you might want to save this email just for the links. (Gotta watch Carlin!… WARNING… as usual cursing included!)

So, marketing…

The idea of the Coronavirus is that it could kill you, or at least make you very sick.  Consider these three promotional actions:

Safe Space. Promote your office as a Safe Zone. In your clinic, use plenty of disinfectant around the office. Let the patients see you wipe down tables, doorknobs, pens, clipboards, and have plenty of Purell (or something similar) around for hand wipes. This is to demonstrate that your office is taking all precautions to be a safe, sterile healing facility.

Get Healthier and Stronger. Secondly, promote the healing aspect of your services – how they can improve and bolster the immune system. The virus will have the most impact on the physically weak. Encourage patients to come in and get stronger in your safe space.  (Ben Lerner has a good article about this – link below.)

Communicate and Educate. Use your “table talk” time, and through newsletters and other media, to communicate with your patients. Give them health tips regarding the virus. But also relay positive activities that are going on in your office – an upcoming talk, a community clean-up drive, a patient success or a new team member. This goes for your team as well – educate your staff. People tend to hunker down during a crisis, somewhat out of fear. Standup, standout and maintain your positive presence and leadership – keep communicating.

The viruses may be real and get transmitted from person to person. But ideas can do the same. So spread the word — communicate your office as a worry-free environment where people can become stronger and healthier – safely.

-Ed

From a social media thread:
Chiropractors!! Is the whole coronavirus situation impacting your practice?! Or is it just me?
[March 9, 2020]

I’ve noticed that a lot less people are coming in for care, I’ve especially seen a decrease in overall NPs, is the trend global? related to coronavirus outbreak?? (people being in “survival mode” , or being more careful about their finances)? I’d love to know what you guys have noticed surrounding this issue? Cheers, Kir 2 days ago

ostninja
I’ve noticed a drop this week. I think it’s critical to wipe all surfaces with something that works and have hand sanitizer available. For reality and to create a safe space where they dont have to think about getting it from the table or face rest.
Everybody is concerned. I think it is people limiting their activities, worried about money, worried about the face rest. Let them see you wiping down face rest every time you finish. I’m wondering about sending communication detailing how we are protecting them and ourselves but I’m also wondering how useful overall that would be.

Kiirjava
Interesting… Thanks for sharing 🙂 that communication idea is actually brilliant!
It’s been a slow week so I’ll use this as an excuse lol · 2 days ago

lloydchiro
I’m just as busy as ever, and I’m in San Francisco. I imagine our town will get hit soon.

AshlamAllstar 2 days ago
CCCA here. Only a few one-off scenarios so far. One patient called to pause her treatment plan due to fear of being exposed and one came in with latex gloves, her own lysol wipes and a face mask. Otherwise, practice as usual, if not, a few more questions asking of the doctors’ opinion of the matter.
—-
DrGodzilla22
My practice had grown during since the news cycles started. Well educated patient are referring their friends and families.
—-
DrJayWill · 1 day ago
I’ve had the busiest week I’ve had in a while

All about TELOS and Three Actions to Start the New Year

Posted on by
Reply

Goals: Telos
The Greeks believed that everything had its own innate goal – or Telos. Telos means ultimate aim or purpose of something. The Telos of an acorn is a tree – the purpose of a pencil is to write.

Steven Covey lists Beginning with the End in Mind as an essential habit in leadership and effectiveness.

Now is a good time to review the Telos of your office. What is its innate purpose? There may be a few of them.

Take it a step further – what are the values and standards in which the office must aspire to in order to achieve this mission? For example, “Deliver WOW through service?” (A core value of Zappos).

Reviewing these often and keeping them in mind will assist you and your team to manifest the tangible outcomes of these goals – more people helped and more income collected.

Your Patient’s Goals: Health Never Takes a Holiday
Your patients have made a goal for better health. Don’t’ let them down – help to keep them on their path to a pain free, functionally improved, and healthier life. Here is a desk poster for you to remind patients to keep their appointments over the Holidays. Link

Two Marketing Engines that Help You Reach Your Goals
One aspect of your clinic’s goals should be marketing. Marketing takes many forms, but ultimately it results in more people receiving benefits from your services.

Marketing gimmicks come and go. They work for a while, and then, soon enough, you find that that “hole” is “fished out.” Special promotions and direct marketing avenues need to be pursued. They work and are especially useful for new offices. But they need to be changed often – marketing channels get clogged quickly and the public tires of spam offers.

There are two forms of marketing, however, that will never wear out: extraordinary customer service and outcomes, and your network.

  • Extraordinary Service. Superior service will be THE distinguishing factor that differentiates your business from others. People want to go to the best provider – 5 Star reviews work – for now. But as Internet review systems get hacked – people will look for the best and rely more on word of mouth and endorsements. Simply – be the best at delivering the best.
  • Your Network. Those people who like you form relationships with you and others. Most offices have a network of supporters but are rarely nurtured. These supporters can and should be developed so that you create a network of alliances – people and business who all share your goals for better health are willing to send customers to each other because of their familiarity and trust.

Before the year is out, or just as the New Year begins, consider personally meeting with anyone in and out of your office who has sent you a patient, or supported you in any way. From patients to allied providers to the autobody repair shop down the street, send them a nice and unique gift, or a personal card, or make a phone call thanking them. Tell them you look forward to working with them and seeing them in the New Year. They are part of your network.

Lastly, on a personal note, we want you to know how much we appreciate all the great work you and your team do in helping people improve their lives. If you can, imagine all of us – you, and other offices like you, all of us working diligently as a positive force to make the world a better place.

This is a noble goal – and one we share with you in the New Year. We’ll see you then!

With admiration and respect,

Ed, David, and all of us, at Petty Michel & Associates

Tent Poster – Strive and Persevere – Dalai Lama

Posted on by

“To remain indifferent to the challenges we face is indefensible. If the goal is noble, whether or not it is realized within our lifetime is largely irrelevant. What we must do therefore is to strive and persevere and never give up.”

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
(Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World)

For a printable copy of this tent poster email services@pmaworks.com

Have You Helped A Child Today?

Posted on by
Reply

It’s a beautiful fall day here in Southeastern Wisconsin. Clear blue skies, the leaves are changing, and the temps are comfortably cool.

I wanted to take a few minutes of your time to introduce myself and let you know about an upcoming opportunity for you to make a difference in a child’s life both locally and globally.

My name is Linda Skiles, some of you already know me and some may not. I have been involved in chiropractic for the past 34 years in some way or another and a patient for most of my life. I began as a chiropractic assistant, graduating to an office manager, and now serve as the client services coordinator for Petty, Michel, and Associates, working with offices across the nation to promote PMA’s 3 Goals(sm)of methodology:

  • Greater Profit
  • Better Service
  • Higher Purpose

I am passionate about chiropractic and passionate about making our world a better place. Each and every day, I strive to find a way to live with a Higher Purpose. With that said, I’d like to invite you to help support my most recent mission.

Ed Petty and Dave Michel along with the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin(CSW) have graciously given me the opportunity to collaborate with Wisconsin United for Freedom and Chiro Kid’s Day to host a “Kid’s Korner” at the CSW’s Fall Summit, October 18th-20th at the Wilderness Canyon Lodge Convention Center in the Wisconsin Dells.

The whole idea was born when I made the commitment to sell 600+ ornaments for the Khutsala Artisans of Project Canaan. A large task but achievable with your help.

Project Canaan is Heart for Africa’s 2,500-acre large-scale land development project being used to bring HOPE to the tiny Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) by focusing on four key areas: Hunger, Orphans, Poverty, and Education. It will provide training and employment, while supporting orphans and vulnerable children on the property and across the nation.

In 2013 my twenty-nine year old son, searching for a higher purpose in life, found Project Canaan and served as a volunteer missionary for one year as the bulldozer operator. I had the opportunity to visit while he was there and joined the Swazis in making jewelry. I continue to support their efforts through selling their beautiful beaded ornaments. 60% of the sales support the Khutsala Artisans’ daily living needs and 40% is donated to a local charity of my choice. Proceeds from the sales at the CSW Fall Summit will go to Oklahaven Children’s Chiropractic Center in Oklahoma City, OK.

In addition, I recently published my third book entitled, Nettie’s Fountain Pen – Another’s Days Writings. $5.00 from the sale of each of these books will go to Chiro Kid’s Day and Wisconsin United for Freedom.

Promoting the wellness of our children locally and globally is the theme of our booth. We will have informational material and resources available that focuses on the health of our children here in the US. I hope you will stop by, see what we all have to offer, and support our efforts.

Our children are our future! Can you help a child today?

If you are unable to attend the CSW Fall Summit but would like to purchase ornaments or books, please email me at linda@pmaworks.com

Sincerely,

Linda Skiles
262-749-0221

Links:
Follow my Journey at Project Canaan  – Oct 17th 2013 – Nov 1st, 2013
Oklahaven Children’s Chiropractic Center
Heart for Africa – Project Canaan
Wisconsin United for Freedom
Chiro Kid’s Day
Children’s Health Defense

8 Successful Marketing Attitudes

Posted on by
Reply

“Marketing is an inside job,” one business owner told me years ago.

He meant it first starts with your attitude and your drive to reach your goals.

Your mental outlook will determine the effectiveness of all of your marketing activities. The good news is that your attitude is something which you do have control over. Even if you have difficult personal and environmental factors acting against you, you still have a choice on how you decide to act. The way you look at your world is entirely up to you.

Practice marketing is ultimately an “inside-out job,” and though marketing includes “outside-in” activities, such as advertising, its success is dependent upon what is happening on the “inside.” On a scale of 1-5, where “5” is strongest, and “1” is weakest, you should work daily to reach a “5” on each of these eight attitudes.

At a team meeting every few months, you can hand this article out to each team member and have each person grade (1-5) how the office has been operating regarding each attitude. You can also have a team member summarize one particular attitude and describe it to the rest of the team in their own words. These attitudes are your marketing muscles that can drive and maintain your growth. Keep working them and making them stronger.

I have observed these eight attitudes in common with successful providers and business owners. I encourage you to use them yourself.

1.  Friendliness and Cheerfulness. When you smile, the whole world smiles with you. And that is what you want: your whole community smiling with you. A positive and cheerful outlook opens the channels of communication between you and your community. It is an unspoken “open invitation” for people to interact with you. The happier you are, and the more positive your outlook is, the easier all other marketing efforts will be. “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone….” From a Poem by Ella Wheeler (1883)

2. Interested Attitude. Where I have been successful in selling and marketing services, this has always been my secret: be interested in the other person. Don’t fake it. Just start with whatever strikes your curiosity. You will find that having an honest interest in people is one of your best sales and marketing tools. People respond positively to sincere curiosity about them. “Betty, where did you find those blue shoes?” “So Frank, I have always wondered, why do you guys call yourselves the Kiwanis?” You don’t have to be interested in everyone. Be courteous and be professional, of course. But you’ll find that you can find something of interest in most people. Since your interest is genuine and not simulated, the other person can begin to trust you. You are not a phony operating off of a script. Even if your curiosity makes you seem a bit forward, at least you are honest. Behind your interest should be a desire to understand the other person, and this requires empathy. This kind of interest begets communication which lays the foundation for the other person knowing you, liking you, and trusting you.

3. “Get to Know Me” Attitude. You should want the community to know you. You should want them to know that you are an excellent provider and that your business gets results. Don’t assume people know what you do – or even care. Maybe they know you are a provider but think you are retired, or too busy and no longer taking new patients, or too important to talk to them. And let them get to know about you personally– that your dog’s name is Louie and you are not from Canada, even though you are very nice. Be willing to have the whole community know all about you, and believe that once they do, they’ll like you. Don’t hide. We all spend too much time in boxes – our houses, our offices, our cars, and other buildings. Get out of the boxes and be willing to be seen and heard. “It is better to be looked over than overlooked.” (Mae West)

4. “Gratitude Attitude.” This is a term often used by Zig Ziglar, meaning be grateful and appreciative. The “Gratitude Attitude” melts the ice between people. It shows respect and honors those around you, especially patients, prospective patients, your teammates, and of course, your family and friends. People hate to be ignored and too often we take for granted the amazing souls around us each day. Be thankful to be a provider and business owner and that you have an opportunity to help people. Show your gratitude to others. Let them know how you appreciate them. Count your blessings daily. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others.” (Marcus Tullius Cicero. 106 BC -43 BC)

5. Service Attitude. Be a missionary on a mission to help. Be a giver. In the office, think ahead of what each patient needs each day and make sure they get it. Outside of the office, realize that people are in trouble, have problems, and want relief, so help them. Many are looking for answers. Offer information, community services, consultations, and be a “do-gooder.” Find out what people want and help them achieve it – through your services or another’s. It has been said that “The hole that you give through — is the hole through which you will receive.”

6. Big Capacity Attitude. “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” (Napoleon Hill.) Hold the concept that everyone in your community should receive your services. THINK BIG. Think abundance. Be willing to meet hundreds of new people each day and be open to scores of new patients. The mechanics of paperwork, finances, and procedure will all follow. Don’t let yourself become encumbered mentally by these things now. Get rid of the yellow light in your business and turn them all green. “Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success.” (David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big.)

7. Industriousness Attitude. Your outlook towards moving the business forward has to be a vigorous one. You must be ready to jump into the thick of things any time and get the work done. You will need a “can do, will do” attitude, one that enjoys being productive. It takes much more energy and effort to get and keep a business going than most people think. Marketing is simply physics. If you expend energy into your business and the community, there will be a reciprocal force — in terms of goodwill and new patients – coming back. Like planting seeds in the spring. You harvest what you sow. Don’t blame the politicians if the tomatoes didn’t come in at harvest time this year because you were too lazy to plant them. The more you sow, the more you can reap.

8. Have Faith, Confidence, and Belief. Be forthright and confident about the benefits of your profession, your skills as a provider, and the services your office can bring about. From this knowledge, you can be authoritative in telling your story and scheduling new patients. Know that you can help your patient. Believe and decide that they will win and you will succeed. If you are confident in what you are selling, then others will be too.

Edward Petty

The Sickest Generation and Back to School Programs

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Health KidsIn late summer, many offices sponsor a promotion for children and their health. This is often in the form of a backpack check-up, scoliosis and posture check, or a school supply drive. The idea is to link the new school year with children’s health to better promote clinic services, generate new patients, and of course, improve the health of the kids.

It’s been my experience that these events are usually only marginally effective. Still useful, I feel that the real opportunity is being missed.

You could be getting more families under care. How?

Educate your families and your community on:

1. The results you deliver. How the outcomes you generate with children’s health are extraordinary. Use written and video testimonials and endorsements.

2. What you stand for. Today’s children face more challenges to their health than their parents. In fact, our children today are sicker than earlier generations. Learn about this and make it your anthem, a flag you wave. Stand up for the kids in your community, and you will earn respect and allegiance of parents. Be their guardians in health.

3. Provide special promotions and events. These could be workshops, screenings, or a special day of services with donations going to a local charity.

4. Alliances and Partnerships. It would be a good idea to create alliances with midwives, doulas, biological dentists, acupuncturists, and other professionals who share a similar concern and goal for healthier children. Invite them to participate in your events. Have them contribute a short article in your newsletter – in exchange, you could do the same with them in their newsletters. Create partnerships.

5. Schedule an event every two months, or every month. Never stop.

Your leadership, based upon your awareness of the health crisis facing our youth, is the primary element that will drive the success of your kid’s programs.

Read the following from the ebook, The Sickest Generation and follow the link below to the entire article, and other resources to become even more acquainted with the challenges the next generation of children face.

  • American children have never been sicker. Over half (54%) are suffering from one or more chronic illnesses, with the late 1980s and early 1990s viewed as the gateway period that launched the decline.
  • Many chronic illnesses have doubled since that time. The “4-A” disorders—autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma and allergies—have experienced meteoric growth, affecting children’s quality of life and contributing to premature mortality. The spike in autism prevalence has been particularly dramatic, with prevalence as high as 3% (one in 34 children) in some regions. Pediatric autoimmune conditions also are on the rise.
  • U.S. children are far more likely to die before their first birthday than infants in other wealthy countries and life expectancy is falling, driven largely by rising death rates in adolescents and younger adults. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in teens, half of whom are reported to have at least one mental, emotional or behavioral disorder.
  • The proportion of public school children using special education services is skyrocketing, with estimates ranging from 13% to 25% of school populations.

Sincerely,

Ed Petty

To the ebook, The Sickest Generation and other references.

Children’s Health Resources

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Health ChildThe following are some sources of information regarding the health crisis affecting our children.

===

The Children’s Health Defense is a powerful organization that is on the front lines in fighting corporate propaganda promoting harmful drugs for kids. They have many lawyers, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., working on exposing false information and corruption regarding children’s health.eBook Sign-Up—The Sickest Generation
Free eBook: The Sickest Generation: The Facts Behind the Children’s Health Crisis and Why It Needs to End Children are the key to a successful future and a prosperous nation, yet American children have never been sicker with a vast array of chronic illnesses. (Also available in Spanish.)

The Pharmaceutical Industry’s Front Men
By the Children’s Health Defense Team

The Medical Journals’ Sell-Out—Getting Paid to Play
By the Children’s Health Defense Team

Science Library
This database contains hundreds of peer-reviewed, published articles on environmental contaminants that are implicated in the rise of the childhood epidemics we are currently experiencing in the U.S. and other industrialized nations.

===

Pathways is a long-standing publication with health articles that is free to members of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. Its website has links to many articles, a few of which are below:

Pathways to Family Wellness

Are We Making Our Children Sick?
http://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/Nutrition/are-we-making-our-children-sick.html

Natural Immunity
http://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/Informed-Choice/natural-immunity.html

Ear Infections in Kids: Natural Remedies to Ease Ear Pain and Enhance Function
http://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/Holistic-Healthcare/ear-infections-in-kids-natural-remedies-to-ease-ear-pain-and-enhance-function.html

===

There are many books on children’s health, and it is fascinating to search to find them. Commit to buying at least one per month, reading it, reporting on it to a team meeting, and placing it in your Lending Library. Have your team members do the same! Here are three:

Books

A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children Paperback – September 16, 2010 by Beth Lambert

The Vaccine-Friendly Plan: Dr. Paul’s Safe and Effective Approach to Immunity and Health-from Pregnancy Through Your Child’s Teen Years Paperback – August 23, 2016 Paul Thomas M.D.

How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor: One of America’s Leading Pediatricians Puts Parents Back in Control of Their Children’s Health Mass Market Paperback – May 12, 1987
by Robert S. Mendelsohn MD

Tent Poster – In the Arena – Roosevelt

Posted on by
Reply

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”   ― Theodore Roosevelt

For a printable copy of this tent poster email us.

Insurance Network Participation and Getting the Best Bangs for Your Buck

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever . . . Wished there was an easy way to make sense of the array of insurance networks out there? Should I be in? Should I opt out? Here’s a guide for you and your staff to follow to help you decide whether pursuing a specific insurance contract, and staying in, is worth your time and investment:

First, determine which companies you are in network with. Do you have a contract? What are your provider obligations? Are you getting reimbursed what the contract’s fee schedule says it will reimburse? Do you have a profile set up with the national Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) universal provider database and is the information current, and reviewed quarterly? There is no charge to create and maintain your profile in this credentialing database.

Second, make sure you know if you are currently enrolled in Medicare and if you are a participating or non-participating provider. Are you also currently enrolled as a provider in your state’s Medicaid program?

Third, audit your patient demographic. Run a report in your practice management software. What percentage of your reimbursement is coming from insurance? What percentage is coming directly from patients? Which payers are you mainly seeing patients from? Are you finding that patients are requesting you be in network with a certain company? Who are the main employers in your area insured with? Are you enrolled as a provider with the Veteran’s Administration in your area?

Fourth, develop a spreadsheet called “Insurance Networks” to help you and your insurance department keep the information organized and up to date.

Once you have a grasp on the above, you’re ready to determine if you need to pursue network participation with additional companies. Treating this like a sales or business venture, you’ll want to have insurance companies coming to you and requesting you be in their network. Remember, it is to their benefit and their obligation to keep their paying policyholders happy. Patients should feel free to call their insurer requesting you be on their plan. Patients have done this, and outcomes have been successful. Why? Because the worst phone call an insurance company can receive is from an upset policyholder who can’t afford to see their favorite doctor who is helping them (that’s you!) because the doctor is not on the plan.

Things to consider prior to enrolling in a plan include:

  • What is the reimbursement rate?
  • What percentage of the approved charges are taken out for contract discounts?
  • Is there a fee to join?
  • What are your provider obligations?
  • Do they want you to participate in their workers compensation, PI programs? (In our experience, opting in to the WC and PI products means no steerage to you, and cut reimbursements).
  • Are there pre-authorizations required prior to care? Is there a visit limit?
  • What is the initial credentialing and re-credentialing process?

Now, you are on all the plans that are making your pocketbook and your patient happy. What do you need to do to maintain your in-network status? You will need to notify a payer with updated clinic information anytime there is a change in information you submitted at enrollment. This includes phone number change, address change, adding a new provider to the office.

You will also need to make sure you are tracking re-credentialing timeframes for each insurance company. Typically, the recredentialing process for commercial payers is every three years but since your enrollments with each payer fall on different dates, your re-credentialing due dates will vary. Your Medicare re-credentialing is every five years. Re-validation with Medicaid programs is typically every three to five years, depending on your state’s standards. For example, it is every three years in WI and every five years in MI. Many of the larger commercial payers such as Blue Cross, Humana, United Healthcare/Optum Physical Health, use CAQH to approve your re-credentialing. Those who do not will send a written communication via mail or email letting you know your recredentialing is coming due and will include the applications and instructions. Make sure to track these dates in your insurance spreadsheet.

We’ve just touched the surface of network plans and credentialing. Email me for assistance with how these processes work for your practice. You may reach me at lisa@pmaworks.com
Happy Credentialing!

Lisa
“Increasing your collections through better billing and documentation”

The Best That Ever Was?

Posted on by
Reply

Just imagine… imagine that you have SO many patients that you need to move to a larger office to accommodate them all.

A few years later, once again, you are seeing more patients than your office can hold, so you build the office of your dreams – a custom designed 19,000 square foot clinic. And the patients keep coming, so you bring on other doctors. Some days, you and the doctors see 600 visits.

Since patients travel to see you from all over the world, you build a motel next to your office. You also set up a limousine service from the nearby airport to your office.

Could you do this?

Clarence Gonstead did. Here, in Wisconsin, from the 1920s to the early 1970s

What made him so successful?

He was an expert. He was a master at his art. He was committed and focused on his craft and his outcomes.

A founder of a chiropractic college would later say that Dr. Gonstead was not a “commercial chiropractor.” He didn’t focus on management or marketing – just chiropractic. (As a management consultant, I can only wonder how expansive his operation would have grown had he had managers as dedicated and competent as he was!)

He was focused on results and said: “Our future will be our results.”

According to people who have studied exceptional performance, there are definite ingredients needed to become an expert, all of which are available to you. And by the way, “natural talent” is not one of them. Let’s look at each one:

  1. Deliberate practice.
  2. Coaching and training.
  3. Commitment to being an expert.
  4. Support from family and friends.

 

  1. Deliberate Practice. Knowledge is fine, but it is skills that are needed. Skills are acquired through a specific type of practice, which Anders Ericcson calls “Deliberate Practice.” This is not just going through the motions of hitting a golf ball, for example, if you are a golfer. It is going beyond your comfort zone and making mistakes and learning better methods.
  2. Coaching and Mentoring. Ericsson points to Tiger Woods for an example of the importance of coaches and mentors. Tiger’s father, Earl, an avid golfer himself, was a teacher of young boys and had a passion for sports. He started training Tiger at an “unthinkably early age.”
  3. Commitment. It is obvious but often overlooked, that to be an expert, you must want to be one. Deliberate practice and study require work and is not comfortable. Tiger used to train 13 hours a day, according to one of his coaches, Hank Hanley. (Golf Digest)
  4. Support from Family and Friends. Support can bolster individual efforts to succeed. Tiger’s dad was Tiger’s champion, as was Brett Favre’s dad, Irv, the famous football quarterback. Parents, spouses, and friends can play a major part in helping to bring about expertise in others.

It doesn’t matter what method of adjusting you use, or if you are a dentist or a chef or a cello player. It does matter if you are an expert. Achieving a high level of skill is not always fun or easy, but the rewards are worth it.

Tiger Woods was recognized as the world’s top-ranked golfer in the first 10 years of the 21st Century. He then fell into a slump with domestic issues and physical injuries. But with continued training, he came back to win his 5th Master title and 15th Major title at the Augusta National Golf Course just last weekend! (By the way, Tiger also praises chiropractic for his success!)

I have seen the ads, and I am sure you have as well, on how you can be a laptop chiropractor, travel the world, and make “six figures.”

I love the Internet and laptops and do travel the world and have nothing against being wealthy. But you are a doctor, a provider of service and outcomes, and if what you deliver is not exceptional and extra-ordinary, then the world will pass you buy.

There has been a great “shake-out” occurring in commerce. We have seen it happen with retail – where now the Internet and Walmart dominate. The store on Main Street is shuttered. This will be happening to the service industry as well. Only the very best will survive. Don’t fall for schemes that promise to get rich with easy effort.

What should you do?

You should become the best in the world.

You should work tirelessly, like Tiger Woods and Clarence Gonstead, to become the world class masters.

And as Clarence Gonstead said,

“Practice. Practice. Practice. Never stop.”

Sincerely,

Ed

PS
If you have the time, I encourage those of you who use Dr. Gonstead’s method, and even those who don’t, to come by his clinic in Mount Horeb and listen to some of the stories of those who worked with him directly.

And especially… bring your team.

“My Time with Clarence Gonstead DC”
4 Speakers who Learned and worked with Gonstead

Link to a poster on Facebook

Time and Place

  • Friday, April 26th, 6:30 PM (Free!)
  • Gonstead Clinic of Chiropractic
  • 1505 Bus. Hwy. 18-151 E, Mt. Horeb
  • (608) 437-5585

Also, during the weekend, the Gonstead Methodology Institute is sponsoring a “GCSS Knee Chest Extravaganza.”

Link to more information.