“If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.”
~Joseph Campbell
For a printable copy of this tent poster click the link: Campbell – Your Path
Tent Poster – Campbell
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Tag Archives: chiropractic
Tent Poster – Wim Hoff
“We have healing power inside us. But we block it because we feel we need to take pills and become dependent upon outside forces…
We have an inner doctor.”
~Wim Hoff
For a printable copy of this tent poster click link: Wim Hoff
Patient Education: A Simple and Fun Method for Chiropractic Offices
Patient education is definitely a clinical function. But… it is also good marketing.
And note that your entire office IS the marketing department and each team member has a marketing role.
To help everyone on your team better participate in patient education, use this simple and fun method:
Get a whiteboard and place it where patients can see it. Assign someone to write something on it each day so that your patients, or you, can comment on it.
For example, you could write:
- What does this mean?
“Pain is the last to show
… and the first to go.”
This will be a cue for the doctor or a team member to talk to your patients – and can also provoke your patients to talk to you.
Here are some other examples:
- “What does a chiropractic ADJUSTMENT do?”
- “How is pain like an iceberg to your health?”
- What does A.D.I.O. mean?
At your morning team meetings, or weekly meetings, go over each subject so everyone has a better idea on how to educate patients on the topic.
For active PM&A members, go here for a more complete list: PMAmembers.com
Has Your Office Been Target by Medicare for an Audit?
Ms. Lisa Barnett with Petty, Michel and Associates specializes in preventing Medicare Audits. She has helped those who have already been targeted find a fast and safe way out of trouble.
You are not alone…. Things do Happen…..
You are busy and possibly you have overlooked a certain requirement. Your computer has gone through updates and you have not kept up. Or possibly your documentation is simply inadequate in the eyes of medicare or the government.
Whether you are faced with a prepay audit or a post payment audit. I can help !
With 10 years of experience in the chiropractic industry and with documentation; and a chiropractic advocate for 30 years I care and I want to help.
Call today for your complimentary phone consultation and record review. 920-334-4561
The 3 Key Ingredients to Motivating Your Chiropractic Team
Most of your staff are not engaged in the success of your office. Most of them JUST DON’T CARE.
At least that is according to a 2015 Gallup report that interviewed over 80,000 working adults.
The report showed that there are twice as many “actively disengaged” workers in the workplace as there are “engaged” workers who like their jobs. The percentage of U.S. workers in 2015 considered engaged in their jobs averaged 32%. The majority (51%) of employees were “not engaged,” while another 17% were “actively disengaged.” (“Actively disengaged” means that they are actively sabotaging their work.)
But let’s say your office is different, which I am sure it is. You are motivated enough to read this article and I am sure that is reflected by your team as well. But all the same, take a look with me at the level of motivation of your office.
How was your last team meeting? Were you there? Was everyone sitting on the edge of their seat and contributing new ideas and plans on how to reach new goals in the office? Or, were most everyone pretty silent?
Sure, your employees smile and look busy when you are around, and often work hard and they do care. But really, how much?
What would your office be like if the motivation, creativity, and level of pro-activity was always very high at “10,” or even ranged from 7-10? If they felt that it was “their” business, where they took responsibility for the quality and quantity of outcomes, and regularly worked to improve the business – and themselves?
I have been reviewing the subject of motivation for some time, from my own experience over the years and from what social scientists have reported.
I have incorporated certain principles into a new system of business management that are specifically designed to unleash everyone’s innate motivation – including business owners like you!
Motivation is the foundational in a chiropractic office, or dental office, acupuncture – even with therapists and other service firms. It is a bedrock for any healthy practice and business.
Here is one very useful principle specifically about motivation and how you can use it to generate more engagement – and productivity — with your team.
3 Goals System of Business Management: Principle #5
Self-Determination and Motivation
Everyone wants their own sandbox to play in.
You do. This is one of the reasons you went to school – and why you started your business.
We all want to have something that we can call our own where we can create and demonstrate our competence. What we get in return is feedback that we can do something good, that we have power, that we can make something beneficial happen, that we can … make a positive difference. If only to ourselves, we can say: “Look what I did. I did this. This is my creation.”
You can see it in children, for example, when they bring you their colored scribbles on crumpled pieces of paper to proudly show you their great work of art. This is their sandbox.
Of course, we all work for money. But we also have deeper motivations that if tapped into and nurtured, can be very powerful. By harnessing these motivations, and then linking them with others who have a shared goal, we can create a dynamic team driven business that is very profitable.
This has been explored by social scientists who have studied what has come to be called Self-Determinism Theory. I have also seen it in action. Essentially, it states that we all have innate drives and inherent needs that motivate us to be more self-determined rather than determined, or controlled by, outside forces.
External motivation, like the fear of being fired, can only motivate us so far. Threats, criticisms, negative reinforcement may produce short term action, but in the end, they demotivate, or worse.
The level of employee motivation has a tremendous influence over the success of your business.
An unmotivated staff, one that only becomes engaged to the level of “I will perform just good enough so that I don’t get fired or criticized,” will weigh the office down.
Self-Determinism Theory (STD) has three components, all of which easily apply to your business. These are:
- Autonomy
- Competence
- Relatedness.
And by the way, while reading this, consider how this also applies to you as well!
Autonomy
You do not want your treatment plans second-guessed by a clerk in an insurance company. Neither does your front desk want you breathing down their necks about where all the patients or practice members are, or why they used the blue pen. You should train and educate your team, but then get out of their way and let them succeed or fail.
Think of helping a child ride a bicycle. Sure, they will need your help for a while. A push now and then. Perhaps some training wheels. But you will have to let them fall down a few times and allow them to get the courage to get back on the bike and succeed. You can continue coaching them to improve, but you must let them go.
Even if you see employees appearing idle, or having brief personal discussion with another employee, back off. Tolerate minor errors. Give your team some rein. Come back around later to coach them and train them to improve. Mostly educate them on the mission of the office and of their roles, and get them to understand what outcomes they are supposed to be producing. Once they see that the statistics measure their performance, they will be more self-directed and want to do all they can to win the game!
We all want to be free to create our own enterprises, even if we work for someone else. As long as what we do is in line with the purpose or mission of the business and our role, there should be no problem. This helps us demonstrate our competence, which is the next element of Self-Determined Theory.
Competence
Doing a good job, all by itself, is its own reward. It pushes away self-doubts and shows us, and others, how good we really are. It is positive reinforcement.
And the better we can do a good job, the better the results will be, which demonstrates to us just how awesome we truly are! Plus, as we increase our skills, we also will find that our duties are easier to perform.
Your team wants to improve their skills. Help them do so.
Sign them up for seminars, webinars, give them monthly reading assignments, and give them a coach or three of them. But this has to be done in conjunction with your supervision. You will need to guide them through the training so that they see how it applies to their roles and the business as a whole. Quiz them on what they are learning and have them give presentations to the team on what they are learning. The old maxim applies: “to teach is to learn twice.”
And where possible, make sure they earn certificates and can wear pins or insignia that testify to their competence. This goes along with Game Theory – people win at one level and then want to go to the next level. They want their “badges.”
Business owners throw staff into their jobs and expect them to produce with little or no training. Without exception, the offices I have seen that provide more training and coaching for their team — do better. Companies spend an enormous amount on employee training. $161 Billion in the U.S. last year (trainingindustry.com). And, it pays off.
One study showed a comparison between car companies and how many hours they trained their new employees: Japan spends an average of 364, Europe averages 178, and the United States – 21 (Pfeffer –The Human Connection).
And you can guess which country has cars with the best frequency of repair record.
Children want to be super heroes and wear their capes.
Don’t we all!
Relatedness.
This is the feeling of being connected – and there are two aspects to this.
Family. First, “relatedness” is the feeling of not being left out of the “loop” and of being included. Staff meetings help with this as does the general work environment. This is the sense that we are in this venture, job, and profession together. That we are part of a family.
Keep your team involved with your decision making. Give them some of the issues you are dealing with and encourage their input. They are stakeholders – it is their office too!
Greater Purpose. The other aspect of relatedness is that people generally want to be associated with a greater purpose. The more that each member can connect to the greater purpose of the group and make it their own, the more motivated they will be. Taking it a step further, if employees have higher goals of their own that coincide with the organization’s and they are allowed to pursue them within the organization, there would be no reason for employees to work anywhere else.
Train your team, let them own and creatively improve their own areas – and help to do the same for the entire office. Nurture camaraderie and a spirit of family – and always remind them – and yourself — why we are doing what we are doing.
Do this, and not only will your business be more successful, but you too will be more motivated and have more fun in the bargain.
# # #
Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2017) and Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation Paperback – August 1, 1996
© Edward W. Petty, From the upcoming book: “Three Goals: A New Practice and Business Building Methodology That Is Simpler, Faster, And More Effective and Fun than What You Are Doing Now.” By Edward Petty, due to be published sometime before the Singularity. © May, 2017
Our Shallow World – and What Your Chiropractic (Acupuncture, Dental, Medical) Patients Really Want
We live in a shallow and superficial culture. It is fast talking, faster messaging, with abbreviated emotions and texts.
No one seems to really care, or takes the time to care.
Communication has become digitized and synthesized. We forward messages from some people we know, and from many we don’t, to people we know, and to many we don’t. We are addicted to our smart phones and “phub” each other. (Phub: The practice of ignoring one’s companion or companions in order to pay attention to one’s phone or other mobile device. Google.)
We buy things from “clouds” that seem to know what we want, as if they had been eavesdropping on all our personal affairs.
The Age of Artificial Intelligence that cares more for us than people who “friend” us is growing faster and faster.
Yet, somehow, shallow works. It is practical. It is fast and efficient. When I ask you “how are you?” I really don’t have the time to hear about how your kids did at their Christmas play, or how you like your new socks. I have my own deadlines and have to go.
We are caught up in minimal viable encounters. They are functional, but they provide the only the minimum amount of care. Any less, and there wouldn’t be any service at all. They are “duct tape” solutions.
This is our life now. The fast, the short, the immediate.
For all its practical aspects, this is the first goal in any business exchange. We must provide the outcomes and services that are initially wanted by our patients. This is a “drive through” consumer culture that moves quickly for things that are wanted. In return, business is trained to provide the minimum quickly, efficiently, and yet is still valuable.
But just because our society is shallow, does not mean that your patient is.
This may be the culture in which they have adapted, but privately, your new patient might not have been satisfied with the services they have been receiving from others. And as the expert and professional, you know that it is likely that they have been short-changed on their care.
No doubt, your patient wants relief – now. But if you want to know the truth, they probably want more than just a quick-fix.
Your patient is looking for someone who genuinely cares. They are hoping to find someone who listens, empathizes, and someone they can trust to help them get what they really want.
What do they really want?
Ask them:
What is most important to you about your health?
Then, find out why.
This is a broad and open ended question. It takes the both of you through the quick-fix drive-through to get to, finally, what they really want.
If I have a painful tooth, I would see a dentist to at least treat it enough so that it wasn’t causing me discomfort. But if the dentist asked me what I really considered important about my dental health, I might say that I would like cavity free teeth that never caused me pain. I would like all my teeth and gums to be healthy and look good until I am at least 105.
The dentist would then repeat back to me what I said that was most important about my dental health so that we could agree that this was my goal — something I wanted. With this disclosed and agreed upon, we could now dig into my history and perform the exam to see what was going on that was causing the symptoms.
Once all this was done, he would explain to me not only what was causing my pain, but what I needed to do, in the long term to get my mouth 100%, which we already agreed upon I wanted.
I definitely don’t want or need a hard sell for something I am not sure I need.
But if you find out what I really want and let me know that you can deliver, you won’t have to sell me. I am already motivated.
Confrontational Anxiety
Confrontational anxiety is that stress you, and your patient, can feel when discussing the length and expense of your recommended treatment plan. But it melts away and evaporates if you work towards what the patient really wants.
There are many different approaches designed to help get the patient to agree to a more complete treatment plan, including scripted words or phrases for the doctor and staff to say. Ultimately, the patient must trust you. They will have to understand what is causing the symptoms, what it will take to get better, and the benefits to be had. In the end, you will want to work out your own procedure. (Give us a call, we can help!)
Realize that your new and prospective patient is just barely trusting you, as it is. They would like to trust you more. They hope for more than just a “pop and pray” (“…and hope that they pay”) treatment and adjustment from you. What they usually offer you, or present to you as a new patient, is a symptom that may have deeper causes. Their condition is probably not new. They likely have had it, or some aspect of it, for some time. Only when it becomes more acute do they come to see you.
The analogy of the iceberg is useful.
Your patient wants relief, but also wants everything in life that the pain hampered or prevented. This might include less recurring episodes of pain, the ability to resume their hobbies and sports, improved performance in life activities, stronger immune function, better balance, increased knowledge to improve their health, more happiness, better weight management, and more energy. You can and should make a list of at least 10 benefits that come from a patient completing their treatment plan.
I buy a new car not to just have a better ride, but to feel that I have a better life. I pay for a cleaning service because I want a cleaner house, but deep down, I really do so because I want a happier wife.
Patients are too often short-changed because of a culture that is fast and shallow. You don’t have to be – and you can give your patients complete and thorough care. This is what they want – once they understand their condition and what you can provide. And, once they trust you.
Be interested in your patient and go deep to find out about their health, their history, and what they really want. Then, educate them on how the both of you, working together, can best help them get what they really want — and what you want and can deliver.
© Edward W. Petty, From the upcoming book: “Three Goals: A New Practice and Business Building Methodology That Is Simpler, Faster, And More Effective and Fun than What You Are Doing Now.” By Edward Petty, due to be published sometime before the singularity. © 2017
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Tent Poster – Change – Rosa Parks
“To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.”
~Rosa Parks
Email us for your one copy of the tent poster.
Tent Poster – Be Kind ~ Bible:Ephesians 4:32
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another….
~Bible Ephesians 4:32
For a printable download of this tent poster email us.
Tent Poster – Two Wolves
Two Wolves
An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them…
“A fight is going on inside me… it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you and every other person, too.”
They thought about this for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather… “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied… “The one you feed.”
For a printable copy of this tent poster click: 2017-02-Two Wolves-3
Chiropractic Spring Marketing
(Free sample marketing planner below.)
Practice marketing may not be entirely what you think it is.
If you are having challenges with your “marketing,” or you just want to generate more new patients, you need to consider something.
There are many good and great marketing activities you can do. (You can go to our website under “Free Resources” and find buckets of marketing. And, for those of you who are active members, there are mountains of even more marketing programs for you on our Member’s site.)
There are many paid programs you can purchase that explain different methods of generating more new patients. You have seen them, perhaps purchased them: DVD’s on dinner talks, workshops on how to present to businesses, Facebook and print advertising programs, and automated newsletters and Facebook posts.
These all can be useful in generating new patients, but the results often fall short from what the few successful doctors who promote the programs claim. This is usually because there were two major components missing in the marketing.
When doctors return from marketing programs, I like to ask them what they thought of the material.
“Yes, I liked it. It was good info. Learned a lot.”
“Great.” I say. “So, who is going do it?”
“Well, Susan can do it.”
“Oh really, when? She has a backlog in insurance and is working overtime trying to work with your sketchy notes as it is.”
“Hmm, well, we’ll hire someone.”
“Great. Who is going to train them? You?”
Not trying to be a jerk, but part of any good consultant’s job is to provoke analysis!
Besides the marketing event or procedure, there are two other critical elements to practice marketing that have to be included for the promotion to work. These are not always taken into account.
This was the basis of the Marketing Manager System I wrote and published some 17 years ago.
Most companies, as Simon Sinek talks about in his TED talk*, boast about what they do, or how they do it. It is all about them. Look at us!
But the better companies talk about WHY they do what they do, and they do it for YOU. They do it for your kids, grand kids, community, and the betterment of the world.
This is practice marketing. It is personal. You tell people why the heck you do what you do — and you say all this with genuine care and confidence – in your own VOICE. You do this in your newsletter, in your talks and in your ads. The best marketers do this – often naturally.
- So, the first missing component that must be included with your marketing is motivation. Marketing must have a mission and it has to be embraced by everyone on your team.
- The second missing component is organization. The events and procedures must be assigned to different people with enough time for implementation.
Complete practice marketing then, has three major components:
- Motivation. Why. Make sure you and your team WANT more new patients. Get that accomplished first. That may take a while. An office staff and doctor who are backlogged with their paper work, already working full time and more, who also may have a few inter-office unexpressed grievances, confusions, or doubts about your service or you… no matter how many programs you sign up for, nothing will work.
- Organize. Then, work out who will be doing what. Spread the marketing around to everyone and put someone in charge just to coordinate.
- Marketing Procedures and Events. With the above 2 components in place, you are now more likely to “rock” your marketing efforts more successfully.
Increase the WHY, increase the CAPACITY, then yes, please — lots of marketing activities.
Let the party begin!!
Ed Petty
Spring Marketing Planner- (DOC) Sample Marketing Planner for Spring
*TED Talk link: www.pmaworks.com/observations/2011/02/10/leadership-in-chiropractic-the-golden-circle/
Tent Poster – Learn – Toffler
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
-Alvin Toffler
For a printable copy of the tent poster email us.
Chiropractic Patient Reactivation Program and Sample Postcard
We recommend offering a special promotion to patients who have not been active for 6 months or more.
The links below will take you to a couple of articles describing procedures that can be used to encourage less active patients to come in to see you.
The Reactivation Program has a number of sample letters and a sample postcard and the Reactivation Card is a sample post card that can also be customized for your email newsletter.
Sample Reactivation Postcard – Sample postcard layout and instructions on how to customize your postcard. Information can also be used for email notification.
Reactivation Program An article on the importance of regular reactivation program.
Best Wishes for your New Year!
MACRA- New Info on Medicare!
New Info on Medicare!
Happy Holidays Chiropractic Friends!
First snowfall always seems to bring renewed energies and hope – my wish is you experience this, too.
Are you ready for January 2017? Ready or not, here it comes. Today I want to introduce and give you some of the latest and greatest on what’s happening with the new Medicare reimbursement model also beginning our new year.
To start with, six new acronyms to introduce to you: MACRA, MIPS, CHIP, APM, SGR, CPIA
- MACRA: Medicare Access CHIP Re-authorization Act of 2015
- MIPS: Merit-Based Incentive Payment System
- CHIP: Children’s Health Insurance Program
- APM: Advanced Payment Model
- SGR: Sustainable Growth Rate
- CPIA: Clinical Practice Improvement Activities
Here’s a bit of background for you regarding the initiative. In April 2015, President Obama signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act 2015 (MACRA). This is an act to transition Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to the Medicare sustainable growth rate and strengthen Medicare access. How? By improving physician payments and making other improvements, like the Children’s Health Insurance Program. We could say MACRA is the umbrella to the program.
What is the purpose of the change in reimbursement model? The purposes include simplifying reporting for the convenience and ease of the providers participating; decreasing the current costs of healthcare, allowing patients the best quality of care; and to make patient information sharing safe and easy. The blueprint for pay for performance is the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, and the goal is to create an acceptable payment system for physicians and the program.
Who are the stakeholders in the broader MACRA program? They include beneficiaries (your patients), businesses, payers, providers, and state partners.
Are you eligible to participate?
Both participating and non-participating providers are eligible to participate if you meet both of the following criteria: 1) Have seen 100 or more unique patients in a year, and 2) Have billed for covered services at $30,000 or more a year. You are exempt from participating in 2017 if 2017 is your first year as a Medicare provider. You are also exempt if you do not meet one of the two criteria above.
How will it work?
CMS has indicated through various webinars that they will notify via written communication if you are or are not eligible to participate. Once you learn of your eligibility, the program will require participating providers to report on three categories for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System:
- Quality (i.e., Physician Quality Reporting System, also known to you as PQRS but with some tweaks).
- Practice Improvement, focusing on clinical quality measures. For examples, patient outcomes; patient engagement and compliance; adherence to your practice systems and guidelines.
- Advancing Care Information (this is the technical component; i.e., Meaningful Use and minimum five measures recorded in your practice’s healthcare technology).
Additionally, if you are eligible to participate and choose not to, there will be a negative adjustment of 4% to your Medicare reimbursement. If you are eligible and do choose to participate, you may receive a positive adjustment of 4 to 9% depending on your level of reporting involvement, as well as a minimum 0.5% bonus for exceptional performance if your final reporting score meets or exceeds a certain point value.
You will have two reporting options: You may report for the entire 2017 calendar year, or you may report for the partial year, one quarter, and may begin no later than October 2, 2017.
PM&A will continue to monitor any changes to the above information.
In addition, I will be conducting onsite MACRA readiness assessments at chiropractic offices and am available to visit yours. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more!
Best,
Lisa Barnett, Consultant
Petty, Michel & Associates
Call: nine two zero.334.4561
Email: Lisa@pmaworks dot com
How To Make Your Chiropractic and Natural Health Lending Library Work
A natural health lending library is a very practical marketing tool – if used.
A lending library is a collection of books, DVD’s, and other information that you can loan your patients. It is part of an ongoing patient education program. The better your patients understand what you do and why you do it, the more likely they will be to stick to a long-term care program and to refer their family and friends for services. Patient education, compared to other marketing activities, is not that expensive. It has a good ROI!
Download a list of suggestions here for your chiropractic or natural health care library. [Ideas for your Lending Library] Please give us your suggestions as well.
This all is logical, right? We all know this.
So…why is it rarely done? Most of the offices that I have seen with lending libraries have them on the bottom shelf in some corner of their office filled with books from a garage sale and old VHS video cassettes.
Everyone knows patient education is important. Like the Spinal Care Class, or new patient education class, everyone knows this is good for the patient and helps the office grow. Right?
Funny story… I attended a small get-together of chiropractors one evening here in Southeast Wisconsin. The presentation was given by the lead doctor of a multiple doctor office. Great doctor, nice practice. He had been in practice for years and looked weathered and ready for retirement. The talk was how to give an effective Spinal Care Class for new patients. The presentation was full of practical content. The only thing… the doctor wasn’t that cheerful about his presentation.
After he finished, and as he left the front of the room looking down at the floor, he muttered, as if passing on a confidential apology to another spy… “But we don’t do the classes anymore.”
So, no need to fool ourselves here. It might be just easier to buy some nice posters and be done with it.
Ah, but there is a trick to making your lending library work… and patient education in general work!
The lending library is primarily for YOU — and each member of your professional team.
We have been looking at it all wrong. The lending library is a reflection of YOU!
If YOU study, and if your support team studies and learns, you all will be so enthusiastic about the information that you will insist that your patients learn this information as well.
Be curious and ask yourself some questions. For example:
- Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to significantly lower blood pressure. Do your patients know this? How does it work?
- Why do some intervertebral discs degenerate and others (in the same spine) do not?
- Do your patients understand the myth of cholesterol, heart disease, and how statin drugs may be causing some of the symptoms they are coming in to see you for?
- How is the adaptive immune response affected [during “cold and flu season”] by the adjustment?
- Is the average time for a whiplash patient to achieve maximum improvement 7 months 1 week? If so, why? If not, what is it?
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for rheumatoid and/or osteoarthritis conservatively cause 16,500 Americans to bleed to death each year. Do your patients know this? Do their families?
- Glutamate and aspartame can cause chronic pain sensitization, and removing them from the diet for 4 consecutive months can eliminate all chronic pain symptoms. Do your patients know this? Do their spouses? *
Read a book, watch a video, question authority, ask questions — seek the truth. Get excited about learning new things about your profession.
DON’T GET BORED. If you are bored, quit and go home!
Otherwise, be grateful for the opportunities we all have to learn and expand our knowledge and understanding of the services we provide and the world in which we provide them.
Be curious.
Ultimately, you sell yourself before you sell your services. How can you sell a care class or an extended treatment plan if you are not truly excited about them?
Learning new aspects of chiropractic, health care, wellness, sickness, the sickness industry, how your patients are being manipulated and exploited… all this should agitate you one way or another.
For example, I watch Vaxxed – the movie — and then listened to Dr. Andrew Wakefield and Brandy Vaughn (former Merck employee) talk on YouTube about the movie and how they are now being covertly and overtly intimidated to shut up. If this pharmaceutical company is trying to help members of your community get healthier, why are they now attempting to squash dissent and in such a sinister and yet powerful way? I can’t help but wonder: just how powerful are they at manipulating public opinion? How are they influencing my community and my family?
If you look further into the effects of pharmaceuticals, from Vioxx to statins to MMR and vaccines, and explore some of these questions, you can’t help but feel compelled to educate your patients on how to keep their children healthy and free from a toxic environment.
Some of the most successful offices I have seen have spent untold sums on going to seminars (and on coaches!). The verysuccessful can be reckless with book buying and webinar watching and seminar attending.
Continuing education isn’t just for re-licensing seminars. How dull!
If you are not impatiently curious about different aspects of your profession – its science, its philosophy, what it is up against in the market place, you are becoming part of the problem.
Stay curious. Question authority. Study.
Do this:
Assignment #1. You. Order a book – or video- from Barnes and Noble, your local books store, or Amazon. Read most of it on a weekend or weeknight evening rather than watching TV. Present what you learned at the next staff meeting and put the book in your Library.
Assignment #2. Your Team. Have your staff read a few chapters from a book, or watch a video from your lending library and then give a presentation about it at a staff meeting. Everyone learns and the staff member learns twice! Give bonuses for outside study.
Just like we work on our patients, just like we work on our business, we must work ON our roles as professionals and we do this by studying.
Then, no doubt, you and your team will be dragging your patients over to the lending library to check out the latest editions to your collection.
And your patients will know that they came to the right place. They may think you are all a little nerdy, maybe even fanatical about better health, but they will know that you sincerely care about them and their wellbeing, not just in collecting some money for some fast or rushed service.
Assignment #3. Stay curious and learn – and provoke others to do the same.
Sincerely,
Ed
See our attached list of sample books and videos for your Lending Library Ideas for Your Lending Library
Please give us your suggestions for informative books or videos!
*Questions taken from Dan Murphy’s web site.www.danmurphydc.com
Tent Poster- Dreams and Goals- Usain Bolt
“Dreams are free.
Goals have a cost. Time, effort, sacrifice, and sweat.
How will you pay for your goals?”
~Usain Bolt
For a printable copy of this tent poster click here email us.
Rock Your Coding World! How to Evaluate Your Coding for Maximum Reimbursement
Lisa J. Barnett
Download a PDF of this article
Hello Friends in Chiropractic!
Hope you had an awesome summer and took several opportunities to soak in some UV and Vitamin D.
This month I’d like to both expand on my July Medicare Documentation article and coach you on self-auditing evaluation and management (E/M) coding for reimbursement. Are you consistently under-coding your E/M services? It is not benefiting you to do this because more than likely you’re meeting required elements and not getting the best reimbursement available.
So, what exactly does an auditor, be it Medicare or a Commercial Payer look for in determining reimbursement for your evaluation and management services? It is pretty simple and based on both quality and as it turns out, more importantly, quantity of certain elements. Let’s look in depth how you can self-audit your E/M services*:
First, a coding history and review. In 1992, the current E/M codes were introduced as a result of a ten-year study by CMS(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and the AMA(American Medical Association). Then in 1995 and 1997, CMS and the AMA developed documentation guidelines (DG) for use of these E/M codes.
Without re-inventing the wheel, let’s lay out how you determine which code to use for your patient evaluations and management of care. To review,
- New patient E/M codes include 99201, 99202, 99203, 99204, and 99205.
- Established patient E/M, or re-exam, codes include 99211, 99212, 99213, 99214, and 99215.
Charting out information from CMS and ACA’s ChiroCode book, here is what we have as quantifiable elements to determine which code to bill for. Keep in mind that Necessity of Care drives our discussion below.
History, Exam, Complexity of decision-making are the three main elements in the evaluation and management note.
Let’s now diagram out for you each code and corresponding description of each element, using both New Patient and Established Patient criteria. What differences do you see? Which descriptions share commonality?
NEW PATIENT
| CODE | HISTORY | EXAM |
COMPLEXITY OF DECISION-MAKING |
| 99201 | Focused/Minor severity | Focused | Straightforward |
| 99202 | Expanded/Low-to-moderate severity | Expanded | Straightforward |
| 99203 | Detailed/Moderate Severity | Detailed | Low |
| 99204 | Comprehensive/Moderate to high severity | Comprehensive | Moderate |
| 99205 | Comprehensive | Comprehensive | High |
ESTABLISHED PATIENT
| CODE | HISTORY | EXAM |
COMPLEXITY OF DECISION-MAKING IN MANAGEMENT OF CARE |
| 99211 | No key component(s) required | No key component(s) required | No Key component |
| 99212 | Expanded/Low-to-moderate severity | Expanded | Straightforward |
| 99213 | Detailed/Moderate severity | Detailed | Low |
| 99214 | Comprehensive/Moderate to high severity | Comprehensive | Moderate |
| 99215 | Comprehensive | Comprehensive | High |
Building on that, here are the quantified components indicating the minimum number of each component’s required presence in the note to code appropriately and at the maximum level:
NEW PATIENT
| HISTORY | EXAM |
COMPLEXITY OF DECISION-MAKING |
||||||
| Code | Chief Complaint | HX of Present Illness | Review of Systems | Past Family/ Social HX | Exam (1997 DG) | Diagnoses | Data to be reviewed; # of Complaints | Risk Factors |
| 99201 | 1 | 1 | N/A | N/A | 1 in affected body area | 1 | 1 | Minimum |
| 99202 | 1 | 1-3 | 1 | N/A | 1-5 | 1 | 1 | Minimum |
| 99203 | 1 | 4+ | 2-9 | 1 | 6-11 | 2 | 2 | Low |
| 99204 | 1 | 4+ | 10+ | 2-3 | 12+ | 3 | 3 | Moderate |
| 99205 | 1 | 4+ | 10+ | 2-3 | All components | 4 | 4 | High |
All 3 elements are required in the new patient note to consider reimbursement: History, Exam, Complexity
ESTABLISHED PATIENT
| HISTORY | EXAM |
COMPLEXITY OF DECISION-MAKING |
||||||
| Code | Chief Complaint | HX of Present Illness | Review of Systems | Past Family/ Social HX | Exam (1997 DG) | Diagnoses | Data to be reviewed; # of Complaints | Risk Factors |
| 99201 | 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 99202 | 1 | 1-3 | N/A | N/A | 1-5 | 1 | 1 | Minimum |
| 99203 | 1 | 1-3 | 1 | 1 | 6-11 | 2 | 2 | Low |
| 99204 | 1 | 4+ | 2-9 | 2+ | 12+ | 3 | 3 | Moderate |
| 99205 | 1 | 4+ | 10+ | 2+ | All components | 4 | 4 | High |
Two (2) out of the 3 elements are required in the established patient note to consider reimbursement: History, Exam, Complexity
As you may deduce from the above established patient table, 99211’s are rarely used in chiropractic offices. Can you see why?
Additionally, give your current score an extra two points for management of care, i.e., reviewing old records and summarizing in the note stability/worsening of condition, or, two points for obtaining history from someone other than the patient. Add one point for diagnostics performed and reviewed, (i.e., x rays).
Finally, make sure to attached your -25 modifier on all E/M codes if you are giving a CMT on the same DOS.
Have a specific patient in mind and you’d like to find out if you coded and billed at the most appropriate and highest level? Contact me on how you can qualify for a complimentary audit! Call 920.334.4561 or email lisa@pmaworks.com
Sincerely in Chiropractic,
Lisa Barnett,
PM&A Coach and Consultant
Where Managing by Numbers and Progress Says It All.
My purpose is to be the Best Chiropractic Advocate in the World
*EHR systems may already have built-in features to automate the components for you via their macros/templates.References:
- American Chiropractic Association ChiroCode Deskbook, 2014-2017
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 1997 Documentation Guidelines for Evaluation/Management Services, Reference II, Medicare Physician Guide, A Resource for Resident Physicians, Practicing Physicians, and Other Healthcare Professionals
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Learning Network, ICN006764, August 2015, https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNEdWebGuide/Downloads/97Docguidelines.pdf
- Gwilliam, Evan M., DC, MBA, BS, CPC, NCICS, CCPC, CCCPC, CPC-I, MCS-P, CPMA
List of Components:
History of Present Illness – Elements:
Location (example: left leg); Quality (example: aching, burning, radiating pain); Severity (example: 90 on a scale of 1 to 100); Duration (example: started 3 days ago); Timing (example: constant or comes and goes); Context (example: lifted large object at work); Modifying factors (example: better when ice/heat is applied); and Associated signs and symptoms (example: numbness in toes)
Review of Systems:
Constitutional Symptoms (for example, fever, weight loss); Eyes; Ears, Nose, Mouth, Throat; Cardiovascular; Respiratory; Gastrointestinal; Genitourinary; Musculoskeletal; Integumentary (skin and/or breast); Neurological; Psychiatric; Endocrine; Hematologic/Lymphatic; and Allergic/Immunologic
Past Family/Social History:
Past history includes experiences with illnesses, surgeries, injuries, and treatments/medications. Family history includes a review of medical events, diseases, and conditions that may place the patient at risk. Social history includes an age-appropriate review of past and current lifestyle activities.
To download the article in it’s entirety click the here [LINK]
Tent Poster – Einstein Bicycle Balance
“People are like bicycles…they can keep their balance only as long as they keep moving.”
~Albert Einstein
For a printable copy of this tent poster visit: Einstein Bicycle balance
Using the Power of Simplicity to Develop Your Practice
“The way we’re running the company, the product design, the advertising– it all comes down to this: let’s make it simple, really simple.” Steve Jobs (Walter Isaacson) 1.
If you could simplify your business even more than it is, you would make more money and have less stress.
There is a direct relationship between simplicity and productivity, and an inverse relationship between complexity and productivity.
The most successful businesses have capitalized on this fact. This was one of Apple computer’s unique selling propositions – to focus on the simple and eliminate what wasn’t essential.
From its inception, the Apple Macintosh computer was designed with simplicity in mind. Other companies have focused on simplicity: McDonalds order via drive-through, Ikea with its simple design, and Amazon with one-click ordering.
Simplicity Pays
Siegal-Gale is an international marketing firm that has studied simplicity in business and has been able to profile and rank businesses according to their simplicity. They call this the Global Brand Simplicity Index and have found that those companies that rank the highest, also outperform companies that rank as more complex. Their report states (2):
- 214% – How much a portfolio of the world’s simplest brands has beaten the average global stock index since 2009
- 69% – The percentage of consumers who are more likely to recommend a brand because it provides simpler experiences and communications
- 63% – The percentage of consumers willing to pay more for simpler experiences
What Does This Mean for Your Practice?
You want to simplify the experience your chiropractic (or other) patient has in your office. From the first phone call, first appointment, examination, report of findings, patient finances, and scheduling, discover ways to simplify your procedures.
Your intake forms may be redundant or complicated, there may be too many rote statements or “scripts” for your staff to say to patients, or there can be extra pathways that your patients have to travel, like so many rabbit trails, where they can get confused and the flow slows down. Staff, or doctors, may have too many decisions to make at each visit.
For example – what extra therapy should the patient receive? Not knowing, I have heard support staff simply ask the patient what therapy they wanted today, as if they were ordering a latte. And as we know, there are definitely too many codes and documentation rules to follow for the doctor. Going total cash is one solution, but intelligent software, dictation, and scribes are other solutions.
Many, if not a majority of the more profitable offices that I have worked with over the years practiced what could be called “straight” chiropractic. The straight practice (no additional modalities) works well, when it does, because its procedures and flow are simple. It is usually more profitable because extra overhead hides in the complicated.
Focus: Eliminate All but The Essential
Steve Jobs again: “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”— Steve Jobs, WWDC 199(3)
I am not advocating no supplements, no exercise physiology, no electrical therapy. But to be honest, how much of this gets used in your office? I know offices — right now, and have known hundreds more, that have equipment lying around unused or bottles of vitamins collecting dust on overlooked shelves.
You have to embrace first only those unique outcomes that you can deliver. Work backwards and add only the most critical steps. “Begin with the end in mind”, as Stephen Covey observed in high producers.
For the Chiropractor – Adjust
For a chiropractor, this means adjust. (For other professions: what is your core function?) One of the first doctors I worked with when I moved to Wisconsin in 1988 worked closely with Clarence Gonstead. His license plate read: I ADJUST. He had a full practice, chuckled a lot, and seemed to make a nice living.
Start with this first, and then add additional services carefully – if you want.
Educate – In and Out Of The Office
Secondly, educate. Educate your patients, your team, and your community. But your education has to be simple. Your message has to be concise. One doctor we have worked with over the years has a waiting list practice, with nonstop patient, and even some MD, referrals. He doesn’t do a 4-day report of findings and he doesn’t do a 2-day report of findings on new or reactivated patients.
He just very intently adjusts and talks about the adjustment and what he is adjusting. From there, he then also gets into other health topics such as toxins (vaccinations), nutrition and weight, and exercise.
This is a good model: start with your core service and move out from there. For chiropractic education, you can use simple metaphors like “pinched nerve,” “garden hose,” “rusty gate hinge”, and how the body fighting toxins creates heat (inflammation), etc.
And keep educating your patients with care classes, lending library, table talk, movie nights, special speakers, case histories, and testimonials.
And do this first and continually with your support team. This is not done enough!
One method to discover what to simplify is to regularly practice your procedures. For example, do a rehearsal of what happens when a new patient comes into your office on their first day, 2nd day, 3rd day, etc. You will flush out confusions, redundancies, and extra motions that complicate the patient experience.
Outside of your office, the same applies. Educate your community on what you do. What is your simple selling proposition that people want?
For example, someone asks you “what do you do?”: “Well…
we help to improve your health, we relieve your pain,
and we increase your game – naturally!
No drugs, no surgery, and we guarantee you have fun in the bargain.”
How’s that? A simple and a desirable unique selling proposition (USP). (You can use this in all your marketing communications – no charge!)
Make it Fun – and Have Fun
Lastly, there is fun. You can and should have fun doing this. And so should your patients and support crew.
Patients will mostly remember how they feel after leaving your office. Was it a pleasant, enjoyable experience? Was it fun?
Practice life can often bring about a kind of serious hue over the office. Administrative errors, missed appointments, a dissatisfied patient, a staff member out for the day, too many bills – all of this can create an extra layer of anxiety or seriousness in the office.
Fight this by being grateful for all the wonderful outcomes of your patients. Work on having a “the gratitude attitude.”
And as you simplify your processes, you will find that everyone’s attention becomes freer to enjoy helping each other — to help the patients.
Simple is more fun and profitable.
So here is a question for you: Which comes first, the fun or the smile?
Well, you can kick things off right now… right now with a smile. Actually, smiling is simpler and requires less muscles than frowning.
Frowning is complex, so start right now by smiling.
Try it.
See? Already your business and life is simpler and better – and funner.
-Ed
(To help you keep things simple, you can order two magnets of the above image for your office, courtesy of PM&A while quantities last. Click here to order. We will mail them to you at no charge.)
- Steve Jobs (Walter Isaacson)
- http://simplicityindex.com/
- YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnO7D5UaDig
For a printable copy of this article click [The Power of Simplicity]
Chiropractic & Practice Marketing Ideas for Fall 2016
(Download a PDF of this article)
3 Echelons of Practice Marketing: Motivation, Management, Procedures
Most attention is usually put on marketing procedures. That is fine but when marketing fails, it is usually because the procedures just didn’t get done, or only half done. And this is because no one was put in charge of them and given the time to execute them. Pretty obvious, but easily overlooked. This was the essential theme of the Marketing Manager System I published in 2000. It is out of print now but much of the info is on our PM&A Member’s site.
And underneath it all is motivation. Who really wants to do the marketing? You may get excited from a seminar or about an event you have planned. But motivation can dissipate quickly and too often we are not active enough in keeping ourselves and our teams passionate and determined about providing more and better service.
So all three levels or echelons of marketing need to be in place. What follows is a brief list to help you set up effective marketing activities for the next 4 months.
QUALITY SERVICE AND CARE COMES FIRST
It goes without saying but it needs to be said – from an executive point of view, quality care and service comes first. Ultimately, an office that gives “WOW” service and produces extra-ordinary outcomes generates enough word of mouth to create a waiting list practice. Think of Clarence Gonstead.
MOTIVATION
Plan weekly motivational talks at your team meetings and major motivational activities each month. These can be discussing case successes, watching Doctored, or doing a free clinic for the underprivileged. Keep the saw sharpened. Keep reminded of WHY you all are doing what you are doing and your greater purposes. This is the fire that drives the engine of your practice.
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Someone to Coordinate
Delegate someone to be the marketing coordinator. You could have someone for just internal and someone for external events. These roles are only a few hours per week as coordination jobs. The actual work is delegated as separate duties so that everyone on your team has a role in marketing. Your entire office is the marketing department but it helps to have duties assigned just like you do for the front desk or billing dept.
So Many Procedures, Which Should You Pick?
Select the marketing activities that have worked for you in the past and add a few at a time. Pilot each and see what works better for you. Marketing is all about testing. Find out what works and then put it in a system. Keep it simple. Get your marketing systematized and departmentalized and delegated.
Time to Plan
Part of marketing management is setting aside time to plan and coordinate upcoming events. At least monthly, schedule time aside to review past promotions and plan new marketing for the next few months.
Calendar
Make sure you have a large calendar to post all of your upcoming promotions.
MARKETING PROCEDURES
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
All your marketing does no good unless it is communicated. Marketing IS communication, so keep the communication going – in and out of the office. Make sure each month you promote via team members, “table talk”, e-newsletters, posters, Facebook, etc.
Recurring Procedures
The most important marketing activities are your usual, recurring procedures that you do on a daily and weekly basis. Many of these are already embedded in your routine procedures. Because they are done routinely, the usual and everyday procedures can be overlooked or not given the importance needed. For example, just answering the phone can make a big difference. Don’t let the routine become the mundane. Practice new ways to have fun with your recurring procedures.
Community Services
This is what I call the free or discounted services you provide in your community. Health screenings, workshops, networking events, setting up alliances with dentists, for example, or just conspicuously showing up at the Lions Club breakfast. I would delegate this to one person and give them 4-6 hours per week to schedule events and to help coordinate who attends these events. There is a good deal of administration in this role. I have seen events scheduled a year in advance that generated new patients and referrals from alliances that come in years after they were initially set up because the relationship was well maintained.
- External Workshops and “Lunch and Learns.” Schedule external classes for January and February now. Business “Wellness Programs” or lunch and learns at the local YMCA or Senior center. Include massage to make it even more attractive.
- Local Health Fairs. Contact all the locations you have held events in the past year and schedule events for the New Year.
- Contact local businesses for health fairs in the New Year and get them scheduled.
Internal Workshops.
Internally, you can also schedule special classes over the next 4 months, including “Natural Approaches to Flu Prevention”, “New Healthy Ways to Lose Weight and Get Fit This Winter,” etc.
Google Reviews
If you get 4-5 star reviews on Google, you will get new patients. This is proven. It is true. Assign it to someone and do it. Now. It may take a few months, but if you do it, they will come.
Patient Education: Table Talk and the New Patient Care Class
In my opinion, educating your patients is more important than adjusting or treating them. Not all patients are easy to educate, but all can be gradually persuaded to understand the value of your services: what they do, how they work, and why they are important. Educated patients refer more. They stay with you longer. They are more enjoyable to care for. And, most importantly they are healthier. Table talk is an excellent practice with each patient. But your new patient care class is a proven winner. It just takes your intention to do it. Two times per month. Do with the fervor of a Sunday sermon or with the frankness of a fireside chat with old friends. It will boost your practice and you. And… how much does it cost? That’s right… nothing.
Care to Share
There are many ways to do this program but I like it because it encourages your patients to help you get the word out about their successes so that others do not have to suffer as long as they did. It gets them to help their community. It taps into their greater purposes and gives them an opportunity to help others. Set up a monthly drawing and give away a modest prize or two. Enter the drawing by submitting a Google review, by bringing someone into the office for a no charge consultation, or by getting a workshop set up in their place of employment. Run the program monthly or every other month.
Special Promotions
These are the big events that can be fun and energizing which you hold in your office every couple of months or so. I list some ideas below.
OCTOBER
October is National Chiropractic Health Month. (The International Chiropractic Association and the American Chiropractic Association once recognized October as Spinal Health Month, but now it is simply called Chiropractic Health Month.) This can give you a reason to do many different promotions. For example:
- A banner in your office for patients to bring in family members for a free “Check-up.”
- Reactivation Month – send postcards to all inactive patients who have not been in for at least one year or more for free spinal checkup: “Chiropractic Check-up Time.” Use an image of an alarm clock.
- The ACA has other suggestions on its site. (http://www.acatoday.org)
Child Health Day
Under a Joint Resolution of Congress, the President of the United States has proclaimed National Child Health Day every year since 1928. It was originally celebrated on May Day, May 1, each year until 1960, when the date was moved to the first Monday in October. Use this as a great opportunity to have a Kid’s Day. (Google it. Many differen sites offer suggestins.)
National School Lunch Week
National School Lunch Week takes place on the second Sunday in October (http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/48412.htm ) You could have a workshop on fast and nutritious meals for kids targeting parents and moms.
Awareness Weeks
If workshops aren’t your thing, then set aside one week to focus on a particular condition, such as headaches and call it “Headache Awareness Week”, or “Pinched Nerve Awareness Week”, “Neuropathy Awareness Week”, etc. Schedule one a month where possible for the next 5 months as part of your Community Education Program. Detail procedure with posters in your Marketing Manager System Toolkit and on your PMA Members site under: “Community Education.” Offer free consultation, screening, and information regarding the condition.
Crazee Dayz
Select a day and make it special for your patients. Only one day a week is necessary otherwise it’s not special. It can be once per month or every week. Serve extra treats. You can have the staff dress out of uniform coordinated to the day. This can add some extra fun to the office and help with retention and long term referrals.
- Muffin Mondays – Serve up a selection of health bran, blueberry, or gluten free muffins.
- Two for Tuesday – Bring a friend for a complimentary spinal exam and offer the patient a free adjustment. “Two Fer Tuesday.”
- Whacky Wednesdays – gag gifts for patients, “adjust-a-mints”, etc. (http://www.bannermints.com/)
- Thirsty Thursdays — Organic apple juice served in plastic wine glasses with a sliced green apple on the rim. NA margaritas.
- Fruity Fridays – Bowl of local fruit.
Chiropractic Opportunity Week (“The doctor is having a COW.”) (patient referrals and advertising new patients) Free consultation, exam, and x-ray if needed.
Hair Dresser/Beauty Salons/Spas
- Offer a workshop on “How to Stay Fit While You Clip.”
- Free massages (and screenings) for customers
Kids and Halloween Party
With Casper as inspiration, a kid’s Halloween party with a friendly ghost theme has the right mix of tricks and treats. Invite the young ghouls to come dressed up, but you can also have them make ghastly masks as part of the fun. Other ideas include spooky decorations, scary snacks and a friendly ghost hunt.
NOVEMBER
Thanksgiving Turkey Drawing Poster
- Refer a friend and enter the drawing for a free turkey
- Special for Organic Turkeys – announce in your newsletter
- Make arrangements now with your local supplier
Thank a Veteran Day
Veterans Day – November 11. It is no secret that the physical and mental health support veterans receive is inadequate. This good time to set up a promotion honoring those who served. Special promotions including free or discounted services or donations to local Veterans organization. (More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day )
Donation Drives (patient referrals, advertising new patients)
Holiday time always brings an increased demand for helping those less fortunate. Within your office set up a collection area for any of the following programs and promote it in your newsletter.
- Coats for Kids
- Food for Families
- Toys for Tots
- Blood Drive
- $25 in exchange for first day services.
- Also, you can support drives at local church or gyms. EG “Free first day services for every donation a member of YMCA makes to the homeless fund.”
Deer Widows Week
During hunting season or first week of December offer complimentary massage for your patients who refer in a new patient
Girl’s Night Out
This is a shopping/gift exchange that can take place in your office. Have patients who have little businesses set up booths in your office and stipulate that they have to bring guests. Supply some refreshments and promote as great way to “Shop Local” for Christmas presents. Enlist the help of massage therapist, local spas and direct marketing consultants. You can provide free screenings.
DECEMBER
Holiday Coupons – Gifts Certificates (patient referrals)
- Good for Massage, consultation, exam, x-ray
- Denominations: Free, $25, $25 or food donation to charity.
Poinsettia Give Away
Give away free poinsettias, one per family. Include in the cards a gift certificate for family members or friends. (See Member’s site for gift card)
Saturday with Santa
- Set up Santa in your reception room corner
- Treats for the kids
- Pictures with Santa
- Free spinal check with Doc
Appreciation to External Referral Sources
Deliver a fruit basket or other present personally during December with a card of thanks and mention how you are looking forward to another year working together. This would go to any location where you had an external community services type of event, such as a screening or workshop. Include: “Looking forward to working with you next year.”
Health Never Takes a Holiday
Post a sign in your office in December that “Health Never Takes a Holiday” and review and re-schedule patients through December to January.
Giving Tree/Angel Tree
The Giving Tree/Angel Tree Project is a great way to bring community awareness to your office. It is a simple project that gets your patients be involved to help others where they might not otherwise have the opportunity to do so.
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY
Winter Workshops and Movie Nights – Internal
These, of course, can be done anytime of the year. Whether it is how to make organic soup for the week, or a talk on vaccinations with an MD, winter has been a good time for internal events. Weight loss, fitness, and food have seemed to be popular. These should be planned by December or even November. Ideally, plan your workshops with a guest speaker such as a holistic MD, biological dentist, midwife, etc.
We have a great deal of information on our PMA member’s site for those of you who are active clients, much of it compiled from the Marketing Manager System I published quite a few years ago. There you can find readymade posters and detailed information on how to do many of these projects.
Yes, I know some of the posters are old but we are not in the graphic arts business and neither are you. But they are on Word files and can be easily changed. A simple graphic and title is all you need with the specifics in bullet points. Depending on the level of your program, we can also put together simple posters to help promote your particular project.
If you are not active with PM&A, you can still find a great deal of info on our web site at www.pmaworks.com/observations.
With shared intentions to get more people healthier and smarter about their health!
Ed Petty
September, 2016
Phyllis Frase to Speak at the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin Fall Summit on Referrals and Retention
Welcome back to Wisconsin Phyllis!
We are excited to have Phyllis returning to Wisconsin to join us at the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin Fall Summit.
The Fall Summit will be held October 21st through the 23rd at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
Are you and your team registered? If not you will want to as Phyllis will be presenting to doctors and staff all day Friday. She will be covering the following topic:
“The Secrets of Referrals and Retention”
What’s the secret? The pixie dust? The magic potion to creating patients that stay pay and refer for a lifetime?
In this class you will walk away with what makes a patient pay and value their chiropractic care. This interactive class will help you create great customer service and learn easy, solid systems and procedures that will take your practice to the next level. Included is low stress, low cost marketing ideas that you can implement on Monday morning.
For more information on Phyllis visit: Our Experts
To register for the CSW Fall Summit visit: CSW Fall Summit 2016