They’re Just Not That Into You: Why Report of Findings Don’t Work And What You Can Do About It?

Imagine how simple it would be to report your findings if all of your new patients came with a USB port. Then all you would have to do is stick in a flash drive and transfer your findings along with the appropriate studies validating your recommendations. That day may come, but not fast enough to make a difference in your practice right now. If you want more new patients you must take your good patient communication skills and make them great.

The problem with most Report of Findings is that they don’t work. They fail to get results for the patient. Allow me to repeat that statement, they fail to get results for the patient. Most reports do not cultivate trust, deliver meaning or move the patient to follow through. Reports too often leave the patient dazed and confused and a confused mind always says no. This has real consequences for both you and your patients. The patient misses the opportunity to get the care they want and you lose the opportunity to serve.

You probably think (hope) that getting a patient to accept your recommendations is pretty straight forward. You gather the history, do the appropriate exams, formulate a plan and, boom, they start care. And, of course, the most famous bromide of them all, “They stay, pay and refer.” Too often reports are heavy on facts and light on human touch. Data-dumping does not get the results the patients need. A doctor-centered report of findings focuses on what the doctor needs to say. A patient-centered approach focuses on what the patient needs to hear. It relates to the patient.

Stop reporting your findings and start Relating Your Findings using the following three steps:

1. Personalize the report
2. Give them your best recommendation
3. Make the decision process easy

Personalize every report. Begin your presentation with, “As I understand it, the most important thing for you right now is to be able to_____.” Never use dogmatic platitudes like, “You need to come for the rest of your life,” or weak avoidance tactics like, “If you’re not better after five adjustments then chiropractic won’t work for you.” Both are cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all positions.

Make your best recommendation your only recommendation. Interpret the examination findings then stand firmly upon your clinical opinion, best available evidence and experience. This is your point of view, you are the expert. Is it always right? Of course not, but it is the best you can do with what you know right now. Changing your recommendation during the report when you sense resistance is not patient-centered. It is, in fact, doctor-centered and fear driven behavior. Too often the fear of being criticized, or the need to make everyone happy makes us people pleasers, not patient leaders.

You must make the decision process easy. Address their problem in the context of how it is limiting their life. Make the cause of their symptoms tangible. Instead of saying that misalignments are caused by toxins, thoughts and trauma, tell them exactly what you think. As an example you could say, “Spinal misalignments can occur as a result of accumulated stressors and injuries. In your case I suspect ____.”

And make the care plan simple. As an example, “In order to get the results we are both looking for you will need a concentrated course of care over the next ____.” The reality is that patient non-compliance is a source of frustration for all health care providers. Yet chiropractors need to be better because our margin for error is a whole lot less. People always pay for services they value and value the services they pay for. And in today’s stingy economy, chiropractic care needs to be affordable and valued. You can take charge of your practice but only if you take responsibility for your role in patient non-compliance.

Medicare ABN Update: March 1, 2009 Deadline

Doctors: March 1, 2009 is the implementation deadline for using the updated ABN form from Medicare! This post is simply to serve as a reminder to make sure you are in compliance with the latest Medicare requirements. Due to the complexity of the Medicare system; I will refer you to the ACA's website for additional information. This information is availible to you at:
http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=2039. This link should give you acess to the new form as well as instructions in its use.
Dr. Sea

Recession Opportunities

Have you heard? We are in an economic recession! And for the first time in a long time, if not for the first time ever, it is of global proportions. Is it real? Is it as bad as it sounds every time you turn on the TV or listen to the radio? Do you have to participate? Are there any opportunities for growth and success in these tough economic times?
We all know people that are indeed hurting financially, emotionally and spiritually. But is everybody? I was recently in Orlando to speak at the Activator Seminar. There was not an empty seat on any one of the 4-legs of my flights. Every restaurant I ate in was pretty full, and it appeared judging by traffic that Disney World was still doing OK.
It reminds me of the old saying: “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job and a depression is when you lose yours!” Even back in during the Great Depression when there was record unemployment of 25%; 75% of people were still working and some amassing and creating great amounts of wealth. There is always an opportunity for those who prepare themselves and their businesses to meet the challenges ahead.
Are you prepared? Are you investing your time, talent and energy to making your business strong? Remember nothing gets better until you get better!
I had a rare staff meeting a few weeks ago to address this very issue; my concern is always what kind of culture are we creating in your office? Gloom and doom or a place of stability and hope and where a rational thought or dialogue may be exchanged? I wanted to make sure my staff was heading in the same direction as me. If we constantly hear every business in town is down because of the recession it can become an excuse to lower your performance bar and rational-lie your performance. You see if your practice downturn is truly the result of the recession only; there is very little you can do about it other than accept it and become a victim.
Or you can choose to focus on things you do have some control over: your work-ethic, your contactibility in your community, taking care of every patient one at a time. We are seeing several of our clients setting personal best months in practice during this downturn! So be wary of your victimhood and who you hang out with. It is very easy to get caught up in the hype and lose your purpose and your passion.
One area which is a bright spot for a few clients is in your pending lease negotiations. I am currently in the process of re-signing my lease and found a great article at Forbes Magazine. The link is: http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/02/renegotiate-your-lease-entrepreneurs-finance_0202_lease.html .
If you have considered or need to move your clinic it may be a good time as the commercial property occupancies are way down and it is a renters market.

You have a say ...for now

I just got back from speaking in Houston. On the flight from Dallas to Houston I sat next to an airline captain with over 30 years experience. He even trains flight crews. He told me how badly his company treats all the employees and how bad moral is throughout the company. As a frequent flyer it did not ease any of my anxiety and as a consumer of his services I was appalled. I came away with two thoughts.

1. As chiropractors we have total control over our destiny and careers as opposed to other professions. Be grateful. Take charge while you still can.
2. An unhappy employee should never be tolerated. They are toxic. Hire slow, fire fast.

What’s Worth the Prize Is Always Worth The Fight

The other day I was skiing at Squaw Valley in the beautiful sun drenched Sierra Nevada Mountains. There I was swinging over a 70 ft. crevasse, feeling the blunt force trauma of my fear of heights, clinging to the safety bar like a koala bear in a Eucalyptus tree.

WHY? Because getting to the top of the mountain has value to me. Imagine the prize. I can reach breath taking terrain in perfect condition, and all the eye candy that only a panoramic view from 8,000 ft. could deliver. From there I could stand on the edge of a cornice and plunge into fresh, untracked, untouched powder. The snow that all skiers dream about yet few ever experience. I was about to get one face shot after another. Pristine perfectly chilled puffs of “pow” as I sank into a bottomless wave of bluish white crystals, floating, suspended in space. I was about to defy gravity, defy common sense, and defy my fear of falling, but OMG the reward.

On the chairlift I was getting into the performance zone. I had my helmet speakers cranked to nearly concert level as I felt every word and beat of one of my favorite Canadian bands, Nickelback. The lyrics to “If Today Was Your Last Day” still echo in my mind. In this particular track the singer shares the best advice he ever received from a friend. Let me pass it on to you.
“Each day’s a gift and not a given right, leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind, and try to take the path less traveled.”

“If today was your last day, tomorrow was too late, would you say goodbye to yesterday.”
Say goodbye to yesterday and reach with everything you have. Your success is in the pursuit and living fully on the edge, not in holding back. As chiropractic entrepreneurs we are people with a vision, a mission, and a message. We have the potential for living a life of profound meaning. We live on the edge, poised and prepared to catch the prize.

The Edge is where you get to live when you stop lying to yourself and accept that you could be your biggest obstacle. When you take responsibility you can take charge of your life. You can always be better and do more.

The edge is where the fun, the money and self satisfaction are and it’s not crowded. Few dare to make the effort and take the risk. The reason that there is a lot of room at the top is that few people have the desire, drive and determination and fewer still, ever act on it.

As an example, the mountain I ski on had 7000 other skiers on that day. Yet few dare to go big, they play it safe and just go home. Our profession is full of great people who intend to change the world, and provide a wealthy lifestyle for their families, yet most never reach their potential, they play it safe and just go home.

If you want to be happier, wealthier, and healthier then take massive action, defy inertia, defy complacency and defy cultural entitlements. Excuse me, but just when did quitting ever become an option?! No matter how you say it, sabbatical, taking a break or telling people that you are overwhelmed, it’s still quitting.

As I was editing this message a client who is living on the edge just sent me this e- mail.

“I have noticed that my "boredom" creeps up due to a combination of not knowing what to do next (which coaching has helped me figure out and prioritize) and procrastinating over the things I don't want to do. As time has moved along my "to do" list has grown as opposed to shrinking because my awareness of what I need to do has increased. So as my knowledge has increased it is more a matter of getting off my butt and doing stuff even if I don't like it. Thanks again” - Dr. P

Thinking is not acting. Thinking is work only when the idea or plan is tested in the world outside of your head. Working ‘on it’ is not the same as doing it. Self deception is seeing so many possibilities that you never decide to decide. Self deception is saying you want more but refusing to change not only WHAT you are doing, but WHY you are doing things the same way.
Look at how far you have come and accept that you will need to continue your defiance. What do I mean by defiance? To defy means to challenge yourself and make things better by investing all you have in what you want. Success is simple, do what needs to be done for as long as it takes. Get a team of advisors because no one can do it all or hold themselves accountable in every situation.

Each of you in one way or another have defied something in your upbringing, it might be lifestyle choice, the choice to be an entrepreneur not a worker bee, the choice to have your cake and eat it too, the choice to think big and take risks.

Each of you in one way or another has defied something in your education. Did your grammar school and college prepare you to be a technician, to fit in, to serve the machine? Mine did and I am not willing to play that role. How about you?

Each of you in one way or another has defied something in your situation. My situation was that my chiropractic business was not supporting my life as I had dreamed it. I bet yours isn’t either. I bet you want more. I bet you know you know that you have a potential that has not remotely been tapped.

As chiropractors we take a different, some say radical approach to health and healing, yet as business owners we choose to avoid the realities that success comes as a result of mental, emotional and physical growth. It’s called work, its relentless effort, but, oh my God, the reward.

See you on the lift up to the top!