As doctors, it is imperative that we lead our patients. They seek out our professional advice, and depend on us to guide their decisions.
Pro Re Nata. Used by doctors and medical professionals to abbreviate a treatment schedule whereby the patient determines when they need treatment or evaluation, or signifies a discharge from care due to condition resolution.
But how do patients know when they need care?
As doctors, it is imperative that we lead our patients. They seek out our professional advice, and depend on us to guide their decisions.
In today’s tunes, it is quite common for patients to use the internet to search their conditions. Armed with their research along with their own diagnosis, they come to us with a list of potential ailments from which they may be suffering.
I’m sure we all have great stories about patients thinking they are dying only to leam from our evaluation that it’s something very treatable. I know I do, like the time the patient thought he was having a heart attack. He had visited the ER several times (which I was grateful he was that practical) only to find out his heart was in great condition. It turned out to be a Chiropractic issue related to a left T5 intercostal problem.
This is a great example of a patient not having the education, training, or capacity to diagnose themselves or create their own treatment plan. Knowing this, why do we allow our patients to decide when they need care?
The PRN mindset is a close cousin to Poverty Complex. It’s really hard to build a profitable practice offering PRN-based treatment plans. How can you plan your schedule? How can you project your revenue? How can you guide patients to create the long-term outcomes they really need?
For years, I have had a litmus test in practice to know if I’m doing the right thing. It’s very simple. If your recommendations are good for the patient, AND your proposed care plan is good for the practice, then it’s a WIN-WIN. Let me explain further. When you offer the patient what they need and help them appreciate the value of care, then the patient gets back their freedom from pain, their function restored, and their quality of life improved.
When you build treatment plans that benefit your clinic, then you create enough profit to build a great life for you and your family, offer competitive wages to your staff so you take care of them and their families, and it puts you in a position to continue investing back into your business so you can offer more to the community you serve.
Here’s the other issue with the Chiropractic PRN mindset. You are telling the patient that you are quitting them because they’re done with care. This can be very confusing to patients because you are not leading them. If their pain, symptoms, or dysfunction return, they are less likely to return to you for care. Why? Because, in their mind, you discharged them from care. And that equates to the patient believing you can’t help them any more.
We don’t need to have the PRN mindset. Tell the patients what they need, show them the value, and promote the full-range of Chiropractic services including maintenance and the Chiropractic lifestyle.
PRN really should mean that you are telling the patient what you believe they need” so they can reach their health goals. Eliminate the poverty-guilt-ridden thought process of using PRN to be “nice.” Patients expect you to be the doctor and tell them the truth about what they need and what your skilled and professional recommendations are for them.
Remember the litmus test. Eliminate the PRN mindset and you create a winwin scenario for all.
Dr. Michael Perusich is a seasoned advisor with 35+ years of success in healthcare and consulting. He specializes in coaching, training, content development, and motivational speaking. As the CEO & Managing Partner of Kats Consultants, LLC, he provides business knowledge and tools for chiropractic entrepreneurs to achieve optimal success. You can reach Michael at 407-308-5590 or at katsconsultants.com
