Interview with: Holly Jensen,
"Helping CA's Increase Cash Collections"
The Chiropractic Assistant
Holly Jensen has served the chiropractic profession since 2002 in a variety of ways including being a chiropractic assistant and office manager to Dr. Miles Bodzin, as well as her current role working with Cash Practice Systems. For the past decade, she has served as the Director of Operations for Cash Practice Systems where she has trained thousands of DCs and CAs on how to run a cash-based practice. Cash Practice Systems offers webbased software for chiropractors to implement a four-step process resulting in increased patient retention. Some of her speaking engagements include Parker Seminars, Mastering Your Day 1 & 2, and Cash Practice Academy Hands On Training. In an interview with The Chiropractic Assistant, HollyJensen explains how she got here.
TAC: Tell us how you got into chiropractic.
HJ: I grew up in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California and worked as a waitress for numerous years where I honed my people skills. Around this same time, my husband joined the Navy, and in 1999, we ended up being stationed in San Diego, California with our three children.
“'After working at the Chiropractic Wellness Center for a few months and receiving care, all my migraines and ear and sinus infections cleared up. ”
One of my children requires extra attention as she has a rare genetic disorder called Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (genetic abnormality that results in severe intellectual disabilities in addition to other impairments). So shortly after settling into city life, I became state-licensed and Navy-certified to run a daycare business in an effort to help ease my children into the adjustment of moving, starting a new school, and being there to care for my daughter.
In 2002, after a few years of running the daycare business, my youngest son was starting school and I was eager to leave the daycare business behind and work in an environment where I could speak with adults! At that same time, I came across a help-wanted ad in our local community newspaper that was looking for someone to come into a chiropractic office for four hours a week and file paperwork. Yes—four hours a week!
I thought this would be the perfect way to get my foot in the door of a professional environment and to learn more about the chiropractic field. I was hired and began working for Dr. Miles Bodzin the following week. Part of my new-hire training at the Chiropractic Wellness Center included going through the same process a new patient would. I received a chiropractic exam, X-rays, and report of findings.
I had been to a chiropractor in the past and had never been told about the true power of chiropractic, so when Dr. Bodzin sat down and educated me, I was blown away.
I remember welling up in my own report of findings because I had been a long-time sufferer of chronic migraines and ear and sinus infections, and I felt a sense of hope that a corrective care program for chiropractic care would help me.
After working at the Chiropractic
Wellness Center for a few months and receiving care, all my migraines and ear and sinus infections cleared up. I was blown away once again. Shortly thereafter, a position became available at the office for a chiropractic assistant and Dr. Bodzin asked me if I would be interested in being promoted. I eagerly accepted and soon after,
After one weekend of attending the Parker Seminar's CA classes, I felt the fire inside burn bright! I knew that I wanted to be part of the chiropractic profession for the rest of my life and decided that I would become a career CA. I returned from Parker Seminars with a greater sense of purpose—not just as a CA, but as a mother, wife, daughter, and friend.
TCA: Tell us about your life as a CA.
HJ: My role as a CA was fulfilling! Dr. Bodzin is a great
he asked meto attend a Parker Seminarin Las Vegas with the rest of the team. I was honored and excited that he wanted to invest in my education as a CA.
mentor to me and took the time to train and explain why we do the things that we do. He helped me foster the skills that I needed to be successful, and with time, I developed an even deeper love and passion for chiropractic.
Dr. Bodzin always made it a point to help us think like owner-minded staff by asking for our ideas and suggestions and having us all contribute to goal setting. He also inspired us to take classes and to attend our local chiropractic philosophy meetings.
By this time, my entire family had been receiving chiropractic care and the benefits that my children were experiencing were incredible! Their incredible results motivated me to refer many friends and neighbors. I also helped organize many events in our community to educate families and schools about the benefits of chiropractic.
Some of my best memories in practice involve our patients seeing my family and me come into the office for
our regular chiropractic visits. It was a lot of fun to share chiropractic success stories with them, and I'm sure it made quite an impression on them as well because I, as a CA, practiced what we preached.
CA life was not always rainbows and butterflies, though. It was challenging at times. Dr. Bodzin would routinely have the staff role-play the way we would communicate with patients. Whether it was answering the phone or reviewing a financial report of findings, we role-played everything!
At first, it was awkward and uncomfortable because I made a lot of mistakes, but the more I practiced, the more confident I felt when communicating with patients. As we hired more staff, I was able to train and empower them the same way Dr. Bodzin did with me. That combined with witnessing the miracles of chiropractic as a CA was an incredible experience.
TCA: How did this lead you to what you're doing now?
HJ: At the chiropractic office, we used a software program to create customized care plans that we would present to the patients during the financial report of findings. I didn't realize that Dr. Bodzin had created this tool out of need; I thought that all chiropractic offices used this tool. When I found out it wasn't something all practices implemented, I wondered how they were running their practices without it.
One day back in 2002, Dr. Bodzin shared with me how he had developed the program and was going to be making it a web-based application that other chiropractors could use. He wanted to know if I would be able to train other DCs and CAs how to use the tool in their practices since I was successful in training our team. I was excited to have the opportunity to continue to serve the chiropractic profession on a whole new level.
As I began teaching chiropractors and CAs how to create customized care plans, I realized that there was more to this than I thought. The "why we do the things we do" needed to be part of this training. The knowledge that I had gained as a CA by working with Dr. Bodzin, the classes I had taken, the lessons that I've learned in practice all went hand in hand with this software program. These were the principles, systems, and procedures for running a successful cash-based practice.
Thinking back on those early days puts a bigsmileon my face. Besides me, we had two other CAs crammed into a small adjusting room with me running Cash Practice Systems with Dr. Bodzin. We literally had a cell phone dedicated to the company that we passed back and forth between us as if we were in different departments of a big company. It was an exciting time for sure.
By the time 2005 rolled around, my husband had been deployed twice and I had given birth to baby number
four, all while juggling a successful career in chiropractic. I had successfully trained hundreds of DCs and CAs by this time on how to create compliant care plans, how to decrease insurance dependence, and how to increase patient retention. I also started speaking at seminars with Dr. Bodzin on these topics as well. It was natural for me to begin stepping more into the role of Director of Operations for Cash Practice Systems than being the CA I had been.
While Dr. Bodzin was away on a surf trip in Fiji, other staffand I took it upon ourselves to find a new office for Cash Practice. Let's just say, when Dr. Bodzin returned from his trip, he was surprised (and happy) that we found a dedicated office for us to spread our wings into. Thinking back on that, we had really taken charge. For the next five years, we ran both the Chiropractic Wellness Center and Cash Practice from these two locations. I was super-crazy busy, all while still being a wife and a mother of my four kids. By the time Dr. Bodzin had retired from practice in 2011, I had fully transitioned into my role as a Director of Operations for Cash Practice Systems. With the practice sold, we could dedicate all our energy to helping chiropractors and staff free themselves from insurance dependence.
From the early beginning in 2002 working four hours per week filing to now in 2017 where I have an entire company that I lead, I get to serve the chiropractic profession on a much larger scale. To date, I have had the opportunity to train thousands of DCs and CAs on howto run a cash-based practice and have become an expert on the subject. This expertise has led to me returning to my roots. It all really started coming together for me when I attended my first ParkerSeminarin 2003. And now, others come to see me at Parker. This year, I made my debut speaking to an audience of over 500 at Parker Vegas. I have spoken in front of large groups before, but it was a dream of mine to return to Parker Seminars as a speaker, and hopefully, inspire others to have a life-changing experience like I had.
As I walked into the seminar venue and saw my photo plastered all over advertisements and class schedules, and just even checking in at the speakers' registration booth, I felt so proud of my accomplishments. When I took the stage, the butterflies in my stomach disappeared and my eyes welled up with tears of joy. I was so proud of myself.
The topic I spoke on that day was How to Not Screw It Up: Successful Finonciol Report of Findings. Catchy right? In my years of experience, it's a topic that comes up consistently. Some of us are really well versed when talking about money with our patients, while some of us feel uncomfortable and do our best to avoid the subject. When a patient's financial obligations to the office are not handled properly, it often leads to patient dropout, disputes with patients, complaints to state boards, and malpractice claims. Proper communication with the
patient will set the tone up front with the patient and will ultimately result in your patients staying long term.
TCA: What advice do you have for a CA that he or she can do to significantly impact his or her growth?
HJ: Leave yourego behind, admit to yourflaws, and push yourself outside of your comfort zone while maintaining a positive attitude. Life can be challenging, but as long as you surround yourself with great mentors, maintain a positive outlook, practice what you preach, never stop learning, be accepting of feedback, and be proud of your accomplishments no matter howsmall,you will naturally attract great experiences.
TCA: Final thoughts?
HJ: It's no secret that the cost of healthcare premiums and deductibles are on the rise. It's so important now more than ever that we are able to clearly and confidently communicate with our patients not only the need for care, but also what their financial responsibilities are to the office for the care being provided. I am proud of the fact that, through my mission to serve the chiropractic profession, our company has helped millions of patients through the thousands of doctorsand CAs we've helped. And last, but definitely not least, it is possible to come from nowhere and end up on a path that impacts your life, your family's life, and the lives of millions.
Learn more at CashPractice.com or call 877-343-8950.
