Did you know that success isn’t an accident? Have you ever wondered how professional sports teams develop strategies to win or how they make it look so effortless when they play? This is because they follow a game plan that leads to success. Well, chiropractors are no different! We absolutely must have a game plan and follow those steps that will point us in the right direction to be successful. My perfect game plan has five simple steps, and like all successful plans, we begin with the end in mind:
1. What is the goal?
That’s actually simple—to have a successful practice. It’s your job to determine what you define as “success.” Collecting a million dollars per year, seeing 80% of families, having more free time to spend with your family, or seeing a certain number of patients in a week/ month/year are a few examples.
2. What method do you employ to achieve this goal?
There are a variety of ways to achieve success and reach a goal. For example, I could tell you to solicit attorneys for personal injury (PI) referrals to build a successful PI practice. That’s a valid strategy for some, but I didn’t choose that route. For the thousands of doctors that we help, the goal is having a high-retention practice with very little patient dropout. That was also the goal for my own practice, and it’s what we are going to focus on today. In other words, the focus is on increasing the patient visit average (PVA).
3. What do you focus on for this method?
So how did we create a “high-retention” practice? We found that you’ll end up with a high-retention practice if you focus on cultivating patient loyalty. A high-retention practice consists of loyal patients that stay, pay, and refer.
4. What’s the strategy to achieve that?
Now that we know we need to focus on patient loyalty, the strategy to achieve it is quite simple. Focus on a successful “patient journey” for every patient you see. The “patient journey” is the process a patient goes through from the moment they call your practice through the eventual transition from the initial care plan to becoming a lifetime wellness care patient. A successful patient journey has 11 steps. Think of it as the game plan that you and your team will use to turn people into loyal patients.
5. What makes up a successful patient journey?
If we want to create a successful patient journey, how do we do that? You may be thinking that you already educate your patients and do everything you’ve been taught to share the message of chiropractic. What else is there? I’ve identified four pillars that go into making a successful patient journey that I call the Four Fs—frequent contact, feedback, frictionless payments, and forecasting care. Now, let’s circle back and review our game plan before we dive into the specifics.
1. We have a goal for success.
2. We will achieve success by building a high-retention practice.
3. We will build a high-retention practice by focusing on creating loyal patients.
4. We will create loyal patients by focusing on the patient journey being as successful as possible.
5. We can ensure a successful patient journey by implementing the Four Fs.
By Having a High-Retention Practice, We Have Success
The real “nuts and bolts” of this game plan is the Four Fs, so let’s define each one. I recommend rating yourself on a scale of zero to ten in each of these categories so that you know where your game plan needs to improve—zero is not doing that step at all and ten is that you excel at it already.
1. Frequent Contact
Frequent contact throughout the entire patient journey is important so that you stay top of mind with your patients. It also helps to educate patients about the importance of staying under care. Frequent contact also includes email newsletters and patient education.
A rating of zero would occur if there’s no contact at all (not including contact during adjusting). A rating of five would occur if you only do in-office contact; the patient is only educated or in contact with you at your office. A rating of ten would occur if, in addition to in-office contact, you send emails and text messages, etc.
How do you rate when it comes to frequent contact with your patients?
2. Feedback
This component of the patient journey is based on how you give feedback to patients as they progress with care. They need to know that they are improving, so establish their baseline at the beginning of care and give them feedback as it continues. This can be done with wellness scores, X-rays, posture pictures, and scans.
Rate yourself zero to ten on how well you give feedback not only at the beginning of care but also as they work to transition to wellness.
A rating of zero would occur if you never give any feedback. A rating of five would occur if you give your patients some type of reported feedback but you have to explain what it means, such as a scan or some type of computerized diagnostic tool. Such tools are wonderful, but often patients don’t really understand them without explanation. A rating of ten would occur if you give your patient a report that needs no explanation at all. We like to use letter-graded reports because patients already know what an A, B, C, D, or F means.
How do you rate when it comes to the feedback you give patients?
3. Frictionless Payments
Throughout a patient journey, the more frequently a patient is reminded about money, the less likely they are to complete the entire journey and transition to wellness care. Don’t let the repeated and constant need to collect payments be the reason patients don’t feel joy leaving your practice each visit. The way you collect payment for care plays a huge role in your PVA; the more friction, the worse it is.
Rate yourself on how much or little friction exists in your collection methods.
A rating of zero would occur if all your patients were pay-per-visit clients who had to pull out their wallets to pay after each appointment. Automatically also give yourself a zero if you send out statements with balances due and have to wait for payment. A rating of five would occur if only some patients have their billing stored on file for recurring payments. A rating of ten would occur if most of your patients have billing information on file, whether for recurring payments or one-time payments. For this case, it’s rare for any patient to pay across the counter or leave with a balance due.
How do you rate when it comes to frictionless payments?
4. Forecasting Care
I’ve saved the most important pillar for last. Forecasting care is so important for a successful patient journey that it can be considered the foundation of the Four Fs. This is the patient’s game plan for their care, and we know how important a game plan is for success! Having a care plan for your patient that forecasts the number of visits they will need and the payments they will make, removes confusion and allows you to set clear expectations for you and the patient. Patients will have affordable payment options and are more likely to stick to the entire treatment plan.
Rate yourself on how well you forecast care for your patients. A rating of zero would occur if you don’t forecast care at all other than saying something along the lines of, “We’ll see you on your next visit”. In this case, the patient has no idea how long care will continue. Because these patients typically pay visit by visit, they usually have the most friction in their payment experience. A rating of five would occur if you wait to forecast care until the next re-exam. Generally, at a report of findings, such a doctor says, “We’ll treat you for a few weeks, reevaluate, and then I will let you know if you need more care.” In most cases, these doctors know the patient will need more care but fail to tell them at the report of findings. We call this an “open-ended” treatment plan.
A rating of ten would occur if you build a comprehensive treatment plan that includes everything you anticipate the patient would require to achieve the goals of care. You then routinely get a “yes” from the patient after presenting them with a compliant care plan that has affordable payment options and includes everything in the treatment plan.
To conclude, let’s review everything we’ve learned:
• We use the Four Fs (pillars) of frequent contact, feedback, frictionless payments, and forecasting care to create a successful patient journey.
• Successful patient journeys lead to loyal patients.
• When you have a practice full of loyal patients, you will have a high-retention practice.
• When you have a high-retention practice, you will have success.
Now it’s time to add up your scores. How did you rate on the Four Fs?
If you’re a perfect 40, then congratulations! You’re running a practice that is very low stress, full of joy, and not dependent on new patients because it’s completely focused on retention.
If you didn’t score a 40, look at the systems and procedures that you’re currently using for each pillar during the patient journey. Make some tweaks and see how things change. This creates a streamlined game plan for success and makes life easier for you and your patients.
Dr. Miles Bodzin is the Founder & CEO of Cash Practice Systems, Chiropractics #1 Platform for Creating Loyal Patients. He may be contacted at (877) 3.3-87M .200 or [email protected].
