Transitioning Patients to Wellness Care
Holly Jensen
The Four Fs
1. Feedback
2. Forecasting care
3. Frictionless payments
4. Frequent contact
The long-term goal for patients in our practice is to get them to a state of optimal health and wellness and maintain it, which is referred to as wellness care. However, they must first complete their personalized corrective care program before they reach that point.
Patients who transition from corrective care to wellness care are referred to as loyal patients.
What does that mean? Those patients are loyal to the practice.
Their loyalty is key to both the success of the practice and for patient health outcomes.
So how do we successfully have a patient complete the corrective care program and transition to wellness care?
First, let's discuss some of the most common reasons that patients drop out of care:
• Their pain goes away.
• Their insurance benefits have been exhausted.
• It's time for them to pay again.
To prevent patients from dropping out of care and not becoming loyal patients on a lifetime wellness care program, we focus on them having a successful patient journey. To achieve that, there are four specific things that we continuously work on that we refer to as "The Four Fs":
Feedback
At every exam, patients receive feedback that is simple for them to understand how it relates to them achieving the long-term goal of optimal health and wellness. We use letter grades (like in school) to clearly communicate this information. For example, at their initial report of findings, we present them with a report card based on their exam that grades their overall health and wellness. If their grade is a D, we would say to the patient, "John, based upon everything we measured in your exam, your overall health and wellness is a D."
Using language like that changes the conversation from the patient asking, "Doc, what do I have to do to get rid of this neck pain?" to, "Doc, what do I need to do to get an A?"
As patients progress through corrective care and pain decreases, they're focused on the goal we outlined for them of optimal health and wellness (a grade of an A) instead of wondering why they're still coming in for care when the pain is gone.
Forecasting Care
When it comes to the patient's treatment plan outlined by the doctor's clinical findings, it must be professionally presented and reviewed with the patient. In all of the communication with the patient, we start with the end in mind, meaning we work backward when explaining care.
For example, we refer to the "Road to Recovery" chart from Patient Media or one similar to it and say to the patient, "John, when you're well and as good as we expect, we will only need to see you once a week, and it could be as little as once a month. But to get you well, we will need to see you twice a week. During that time, I will reexamine you every month. John, we've been doing this for many years and have taken care of thousands of patients just like you. We know exactly how well you should be doing at each progress exam. As long as you're reaching the goals that we anticipate, we will stick to this exact treatment plan. However, if for some reason you're not making the progress we anticipate, we'll figure out why and make appropriate changes at that time."
Forecasting care in this manner helps patients understand what to expect, which leads to better follow-through and successful outcomes.
Frictionless Payments
Once patients have said yes to a treatment plan, we present them with a professional care plan that's properly calculated and offers them affordable payment options. If a patient has any insurance benefits, we add that into the payment plan right from the start. Doing that prevents patients from dropping out of care when their insurance is exhausted.
Not only does a financial plan with affordable payment options make a great impression on patients, but it also gives them the confidence they need to feel comfortable and enroll in the initial program of care.
When they choose the payment option that works best for them (monthly payments are the most popular), we then make the payment frictionless. That means we automate the payment process. We want to avoid having the patient touch their wallet when they're in the practice, because the more often people have to think about money, the more likely they are to drop out.
Frequent Contact
Patient education needs to be consistent and ongoing. That means we're not only assigning an educational email campaign to patients to help them understand the benefits of chiropractic care, but we're also staying in frequent contact with them in other ways.
For example, we're posting regularly on social media; we have TVs on in the office educating the patients; we have material to hand out when they're in the practice; and more!
With all of the distractions people have in front of them these days, frequent contact from the practice in a variety of ways is key to a successful patient journey.
Transitioning to Wellness Care
Now that the foundation of The Four Fs has been laid, and the patient has completed their corrective care plan and achieved the desired results, we're ready to transition them to a wellness care plan.
We now get to deliver the great news to the patient that the original grade of a D is now an A. They're now ready to transition to wellness care, and their payments are going down!
For example, we say, "John, the initial score of your overall health was a D, and now that you've completed the corrective care program, you've achieved an A! Now that we will see you once a month, your monthly payment will be lower. Stop at the front desk to authorize the new lower payment. Congratulations!"
When we combine good clinical news with good financial news, it makes it very easy for patients to continue with a wellness care plan.
And when we do this with a lot of patients, we have a practice full of lifetime wellness patients. In other words, we essentially have a practice full of loyal patients!
With nearly two decades of experience serving as both a Chiropractic Assistant for Dr. Miles Bodzin and Chief Operations Officer at Cash Practice Systems, Holly brings her expertise and knowledge to DC's & CA's all over the country. Holly Jensen is not only a motivational speaker and master CA trainer, but also a leadership expert who delivers high-energy presentations that help chiropractic practices thrive. In addition to being a regularly published author, she has been awarded as one of San Diego Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business. For more information, visit www.CashPractice.com. Holly may be contacted at 877-343-8950 or [email protected]
