Organization is the Key to Success...
Are You Putting Out Fires or Growing Your Practice?
Nancy Singleton
Too often, the focus in a chiropractic office is on whatever is "on fire." In other words, you focus on things that are happening in the moment instead of on things that you should do to grow and build the practice. If you work without a plan, you will most likely come in to the office and "put out fires." The problem with not planning is that some important things will fall through the cracks and you won't have the success you desire in the practice. In order to succeed, you need to be proactive and organize your office in a mannerthat ensures your success. Unless planned, valuable practicebuilding activities simply won't happen. When your office is organized, it will run smoothly and everything you want to happen will occur because it has been planned.
One of my favorite examples of organization is McDonalds. I haven't eaten at McDonalds in years because I've changed the way I eat, but I used to eat there a lot. I've had a Big Mac in many different cities, including London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. In each of these cities, the Big Macs were all the same! Typically, the person working there was a teenager. It obviously doesn't take a high level of skill to make a hamburger, yet it is very impressive how McDonalds can make them all taste the same. How do they do it? They do this because they are organized with systems. They have a system in place to make sure that every Big Mac is made the same way. Because of their focus on organization, they are able to achieve their success repeatedly.
What does it take to have a successful chiropractic office? It takes organization and systems. Everyone involved in the office needs to know what their roles are. That includes the doctor, front desk assistant, therapy assistant,
billing assistant, marketing assistant, and office manager. Sometimes, there isn't a person to fill each of those roles individually, but as long as you are organized, then every responsibility will be taken care of.
Unfortunately, too often the doctor thinks the front desk assistant is taking care of a specific task, but the front desk assistant thinks the therapy assistant is doing that task. So in reality, nobody is doing the task!
Your job as a chiropractic assistant is to help the doctor and office get organized. This is not rocket science, but it takes focus and effort. You can absolutely do this!
Here's what you must do. Sit down together in a staff meeting and brainstorm about everything that needs to be done. I'd suggest you list everything on a large whiteboard. If you don't have one, you can actually use a window or a mirror and still use the dry erase markers—it works great! List every task you can think of, such as:
• Adjustments
• X-rays
• Therapy
• Report of findings
• New patient intake
• Overseeing patient care
• Insurance verification
• Insurance billing
• Patient interaction
• SOAP notes
• Patient billing
• Appointment confirmation calls
• Missed appointment calls
• Newsletters
• Marketing for new patients
• Cleaning the office
• Reactivating old patients
• Greeting all patients
• Appointment reminders
• Ordering supplies
• Selling supplements
• Selling orthotics and/or pillows
• Tracking marketing
• Assisting the doctor with therapy
• Goal setting
• Tracking all numbers
• Bookkeeping
• Hiring new employees
• Overseeing company policy
• Sending out patient birthday cards
Be thorough and make a complete list of everything that you do and/or should do in your office.
Then, next to each task, answer these three questions:
A Who will do this?
■S When will it be done?
■S How will it be tracked?
Please note that it's important to have the doctor do only the things the doctor can do. If the doctor has extra time, then additional tasks can be assigned.
Once you answer those questions, you can make checklists and assign duties to each person. You can create the forms needed to track the metrics.
The metrics should then be reviewed during regularly scheduled meetings. If you are not taking time out for meetings, decide today to do so, and don't make any excuses about not having enough time. Abraham Lincoln said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
An organized office takes the guesswork out of success. It changes your position from simply putting out fires to focusing on ways to grow your practice. Organization feels good! It gives you the security of knowing what needs to be done, who is supposed to do it, and when it actually is completed. If you have an organized clinic that produces the same consistent, excellent results, you will have an everygreen recipe for success. Get your systems organized so thatyour business can grow, and you can help and serve more people.
Nancy Singleton is a 1989 graduate of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic Assistants. She has been consulting and helping doctors grow their practices for more than 20 years. In addition to overseeing their busy practice along with her husband, Dr. Todd Singleton, she helps chiropractors implement multiple cash systems into their existing practices. For more information, see www.DoctorsCashSeminar.com.
