For almost two decades, I've had the pleasure of training thousands of chiropractic offices all over the United States. When it comes to a patient's financial experiences, I've seen it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
It's critical that patient finances are handled properly, or you may run the risk of ruining their entire chiropractic experience. When done right, the impact that the financial experience will have on your practice may include side effects such as increased patient loyalty, higher cash collections, patient satisfaction, referrals, and less work for you and your team.
Let's first talk about the ugly part of patient financial experiences. If you're doing any of the following, I urge you to stop. Then I would like for you to think about how it may have impacted your conversations with patients. Think about how it may have caused the patient to become disgruntled. Think about how it may have affected the patient's care.
Unhappy to Help = Lost Revenue
One of the easiest ways to cause a patient to question their decision to come to your practice is the tone of the first call they make to your office.
CA: "Doctor's office, how can I help you?"
Caller: "How much does it cost to see the doctor?"
CA: "It depends on the type of care that you need, which only the doctor can determine. We offer a consultation with the doctor at no charge. What time would you like to come in?"
Caller: "Okay, thanks. I'll think about it and call you back." (Hangs up)
I can't tell you how many times I have mystery shopped a chiropractic office and heard something like that scenario. It makes me cringe when a call is handled so poorly. Here's why:
As you play out that call scenario in your head, I want you to think about how the caller would feel. What kind of impression did the CA make on the caller? About the practice? About the type of care they would receive in the office? I can promise you that when the caller hung up the phone, they called the next office, or worse, they decided they were okay without chiropractic care.
One of the most important jobs we have as CAs is to make the very best impression in person or on the phone. We only get one chance to make an impact with potential new patients, so we must make sure it is great. We want the patient to feel like their experience on the first call and office visit is a true reflection of the amazing care they'll receive.
So what does this have to do with the patient's financial experience? First impressions set the tone. If you can't be clear and upfront about costs during a phone call, people will see through that. They may feel as if they can't trust you because you're hiding something.
They may also feel that they may not be able to afford to become a patient because you're afraid to tell them how much it cost. I can bet that any office with issues like the previous call scenario has collection problems. Why? If a CA can't talk about money on the first call, they most likely have trouble talking about money with patients in person too.
Happy to Help = Increased Revenue
Now, let's dive into how this call could have been handled to gain the caller's trust and get them to come to your office as a new patient:
CA: (Cheerful tone) "Thank you for calling the Chiropractic Wellness Center. This is Holly. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"
Caller: "Hi, Holly. My name is Amber."
CA: "Hi, Amber. How may I help you today?"
Caller: "I wanted to find out how much it costs to see the doctor."
CA: "Amber, I'm happy to help you with that. Can I ask when was the last time you saw the doctor?"
Caller: "I've never been there before."
CA: "Oh, no problem. Who can I thank for referring you to our office?"
Caller: "My friend Samantha Smith."
CA: "Oh, gosh, we love Samantha! I'll be sure to thank her for the referral.
Amber, what's your last name, phone number, and email address?
Caller: "Jones, and my number is 555-555-5555. My email is [email protected]."
CA: "Thank you, Amber. As for the initial consultation, there is no charge for you to meet with Dr. Miles.
At the consultation, he will determine if he's the right doctor for you —meaning whether he thinks he'll be able to help you or not. If he's not, he'll help you find the right doctor.
If recommended by Dr. Miles and you choose to proceed, an exam and X-rays would at most cost $X. Chiropractic adjustments are $X. And, Amber, I want to mention that we also offer affordable payment plans, which work for most of our patients! If this sounds good to you, I have a few questions before I look at the schedule for an appointment."
Caller: "Okay. That sounds good."
CA: "Great! So, Amber what seems to be the problem you're having?"
• "How long has this been troubling you?"
• "Sounds like this is really bothering you! Let's see if we can get you in right away."
CA: "Amber, we have special times set aside for new patients. Do you prefer mornings or afternoons?"
Caller: "Mornings"
CA: "Okay, we can see you tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. or 9:50 a.m., which do you prefer?"
Caller: "9:50 a.m."
CA: "Okay, Amber, I have you scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:50 a.m. Do you know where we're located?"
Caller: "Yes, at 12345 Main Street."
CA: "Great! I'm going to send you an email in a few minutes with a link to access the new patient forms so that you can fill them out before your appointment. Again, my name is Holly, and we look forward to meeting you tomorrow at 9:50 a.m."
I'm sure you would agree that this caller has a great impression of the office. Let's peel back the layers and discover why this call was handled better:
"Get the money out of the way first so that you can focus on the patient's experience in your office."
As you play out this second call scenario in your head, I want you to think about how the caller would feel. What kind of impression did the CA make on the caller? About the practice? About the type of care they would receive in the office?
I can bet that when the caller hung up the phone, they felt a sense of hope. The new patient was clear on the cost and was likely looking forward to coming into the office. Most importantly, the CA made a great impression, started to build rapport with the patient, and helped cultivate this patient's loyalty to the office.
How do we keep up this momentum when it comes to the patient's financial obligations once they come in? Let's fast forward to the new patient coming in for their first visit. An exam and X-rays were performed, and the patient is at the front desk checking out. The CA needs to collect money and schedule the next appointment:
CA: "Amber, I'm so happy Dr. Miles is able to help you! Before we schedule your next appointment, I'll collect the amount for the exam and X-rays. The total is $X."
[Patient pays]
CA: "Thank you, Amber. For your convenience, we will email you a copy of your receipt. Please let me know if you ever need a receipt printed out. Now, for your next appointment, do you prefer mornings or afternoons?"
The CA schedules the next appointment, and because money was handled before scheduling, the patient is not thinking about paying as the last thing they did in the office. They're leaving the appointment happy. Get the money out of the way first so that you can focus on the patient's experience in your office. This should be the rule of thumb with every patient.
Presenting Care Plans = Automated Payments
Once a patient has agreed to the doctor's treatment plan, ask their permission to discuss money before anything else. If you do not get the patient's permission, you'll run the risk of coming off like a salesperson. It's best when handled like this:
Doctor: "I'm ready to give you your first adjustment today. All we have left to do is go over the cost of the program. We're prepared to do that with you today or, if you prefer, we can do it on your next visit. Which would you prefer?"
Most people will say, "Do you have time to go over it now?"
That's it! It really is just as easy as that. That is how we get permission to talk about the patient's financial obligations to the office for their care plan. Most patients will want to do it right then. After we ask their permission, they feel as if they're in control, so they're not thinking, "Here comes the sales pitch."
Next, the doctor will warm the patient up to the CA coming in and going over the cost of care. The CA has a custom care plan already created and printed and sits down with the patient in a private area away from other patients who could overhear the conversation. Most people are not comfortable talking about money in front of others, so do your best to make the financial experience a good one for them.
Doctor: "Holly will be in shortly to go over our payment plans. Before she does, I just want to let you know that you don't have to pay for your care in the way that she's going to go over. However, I would highly recommend that you do because it covers everything that I recommended, and it'll save you the most money. Wait one moment, and I will send her in."
CA: "Amber, I want to go over the plan for your care. Before I do, I want to let you know that you do not have to pay for your care this way. However, this is definitely the most affordable way to get the care you need. When we create a plan for a patient, we'll itemize the care you need and apply some discounts. Is that okay?"
CA: "Here you can see the list of services you'll need. We need X adjustments, X reexaminations, etc. Here you can see the total value if you paid visit by visit. When we create a corrective care plan, we include all the services Dr. Miles recommended, and this is how much you will save."
CA: "We offer three payment plan options. Option one is that we split the total into monthly payments. The second option is our most popular, and we'll give you an additional 5% discount for making a down payment, followed by monthly payments. For the third option, we give you another 10% off if you pay the entire amount upfront. This option saves you another $X."
CA: "Amber, before I go through the remainder of your program, does it sound like one of these options will work for you?"
If they say "yes," then you might ask if they have a preference so you can explain the rest of the program more clearly. It doesn't really matter if they do at this point. It's just nice to know if they prefer one over another so you can skip anything that doesn't apply to them.
Next, you'll explain how monthly payments are handled.
CA: "Amber, if you choose option one or two, which both involve monthly payments, we'll securely save either a credit card or bank account number on file to auto-debit your payments each month. It makes payments very simple and easy. Do you have any questions?"
Address any questions and then wrap up. Let them know that you'll take their credit card and set up the plan while they're getting their first adjustment. Then they'll meet you back at the front desk when they're done with the doctor.
Back at the front desk, the patient has now returned.
CA: "Amber, congratulations on beginning your wellness journey with us. Now, I have a few things to go over with you. First, we need to take care of your agreement. Please electronically sign here. Your future payments will be automatically drawn on the X day of the month. If you ever need to update your billing information, please let us know. Now, let's get your next appointment scheduled."
The CA should now schedule standing appointments on the same days and times until instructed by the doctor to change the frequency.
I want you to imagine how this experience would affect your patient. They can come in for care and not have to worry about money because their monthly payments are being automatically processed per the financial agreement. The patient is then able to focus on the chiropractic experience.
I also want you to imagine the impact on the practice of not talking about money repeatedly with each patient. Your time has been freed up, and you're able to focus more on all of the other things that you have to do.
You're more joyful, you take pride in your work, and you're able to better connect with patients. The cash revenue in the practice has increased. Patient loyalty has increased because you're focused on the patient's chiropractic experience. Now get out there, and let's improve the patient's financial experiences!
Holly Jensen has served the chiropractic profession for 17+ years as a CA and Office Manager to Dr. Miles Bodzin, Founder & CEO of Cash Practice® Systems. For the past decade, she has served as a Professional Speaker and Chief Operations Officer for Cash Practice Systems where she has trained thousands of DC's and CA's on how to run a cash-based practice. Cash Practice Systems is the #1 Chiropractic Platform for Increasing Patient Loyalty. For more information, visit www.CashPractice.com. Holly may be contacted at 877-343-8950 or [email protected]
