A Chiropractor’s Dream CA
Kathy Mills Chang
What does your doctor want? It's common sense, mostly. Doctors want what most employers want: commitment, enthusiasm, the ability to think on your feet, and the ability to roll with the punches. Oh, and could you please show up for work on time?
But chiropractic practices have different needs than a real estate office or a law firm. Many of those needs are part of why you chose to become a chiropractic assistant instead of a real estate assistant or a paralegal. Here are some tried and true ways to keep your doctor happy and to keep yourself engaged and happy with your chosen career.
Educate Yourself about Chiropractic
You don't have to be able to name every bone in the body or recommend courses of treatment—in fact, the latter will get you in trouble if you do. However, it is important that you have a basic understanding of the history of chiropractic and its principles, some basic anatomy for coding purposes, and the ability to differentiate between your doctor's chosen adjustment technique and those of others. As the first person whom most new patients will encounter, you are the ambassador for chiropractic in general, and for your doctor's practice in particular. When you know your stuff, you are a team member who your doctor—and you—can be proud of.
^However, it is important that you have a basic understanding of the history of chiropractic and its principles, some basic anatomy for coding purposes, and the ability to differentiate between your doctor's chosen adjustment technigue and those of others. 99
Be Patient with the Patients
They're hurting. They're irritable. They're in a hurry. They've got kids with them, or bosses calling them on cell phones, and they're distracted. Sometimes they are paying out of pocket for treatment that they're not 100% sure they can afford. You know how a mom often sets the tone for the mood of the entire family? Congratulations, you are Chiropractic Mom, regardless of your gender. When you are patient, friendly, in control, and reassuring, you establish important and much-needed calm for the entire practice.
Consistency Is Key
Creating systems, processes, routines, and task lists may seem to be restrictive for the free spirits among us, but the truth is that consistent procedure will actually set you free. When you're constantly flying from one fire to the next, both you and the office feel
and seem out of control to you, the doctor, and the patients. Create a consistent schedule for every one of your responsibilities, write it down, and stick to it. When you know exactly what you should be doing and when you should be doing it, you actually create space for the unexpected to come up (the computer system is down again?!) without throwing your peace of mind and the practice's efficiency out the window.
Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight
That section title comes from a Japanese proverb, which isn't advocating that you become lackadaisical, sloppy, or oblivious of making mistakes. But mistakes are part of any learning process, and you'll invariably make them. The important point to focus on isn't whether or not you make mistakes, but how you handle them. Take a moment to process. How did things go wrong, and how will you respond differently next time? What system or process can you put into place to prevent the same mistakes from happening repeatedly? What can you learn from this particular misstep that might shed light on another area of responsibility where you're ready to level up?
Have Fun; Stay Focused
Connecting to patients and colleagues is a satisfying part of your job, as it is for anyone in helping professions. Enjoy those connections, but keep an eye on when you've crossed the line into distraction. Checking e-mail, testing, posting on your personal Facebook page (as opposed the practice's social media pages) are easy distractions to get sucked into, and, before you know it, a half hour has passed. Your day is a long one, and it's natural to want some escape. Take a walk on your lunch break, do some yoga stretches on the mats of the active therapy area, or sit quietly with your eyes closed and meditate for a few minutes. All of those activities will leave you feeling more refreshed than losing yourself in electronic devices. And it goes without saying that you should never take photos with your cell phone in the office. It's much too easy to accidentally capture a patient, file, or computer screen in the background that will constitute a HIPAA violation.
Bottom line? When you're a dream CA, it's also true that you've created your dream job. Win-win!
Kathy Mills Chang is a certified medical compliWjvqÊB ance specialist (MCS-P) and certified chiropractic 29 professional coder (CCPC). Since 1983, she has '^B provided chiropractors with reimbursement and ’ compliance training, advice, and tools to improve the financial performance of their practices. Kathy leads a team of 15 at KMC University and is blown as one of our profession’s foremost experts on Medicare. She or any of her team members can be reached at 855-832-6562 or [email protected].
