Chiropractic Practice: Outgrowing Your Need For New Patients

Hello, everybody, and welcome to Thrive in Five. I’m Dr. Dennis Perman, and I’ll be your chiropractic coach for today. Every practicing doctor of chiropractic has an inherent desire to help as many people as possible. All chiropractic entrepreneurs recognize that the way to build success in chiropractic practice is to have enough new patients.

But what is the definition of enough? And how can you shape your marketing and your procedures so you attract people who are a good fit, avoiding those who will be better served elsewhere? That will be the primary focus of this edition of Thrive in Five, entitled, Outgrowing Your Need for New Patients.

Most of us are already aware that the number of visits you see each month is based on the number of new patients you attract multiplied by the number of visits a typical patient comes in, also known as your patient visit average or PVA. This simple formula helps us to understand how to grow our office visit volume.

We either need to attract more new patients, have them stay longer, or or both. Because chiropractic care is still underutilized and underappreciated, we will always want to attract some new people into our sphere of influence, so they can learn about the miraculous healing and wellness benefits chiropractic is famous for.

But how many do you need to practice at the level you prefer? Patient visit average is defined as the number of office visits divided by the number of new patients. So for example, if you usually see 400 office visits per month and you attract an average of 10 new patients each month, then your PVA would be 400 divided by 10 yielding a PVA of 40.

Notice that if you see 400 office visits per month and start 20 new patients each month, your PVA would be 400 divided by 20 for a PVA of 20. It should be noted here that there are no good or bad PVA’s, only a measurement of your current results. If you feel you’d like to see people more or fewer visits than you currently do, We’ll be covering that today.

And if you’d like to attract more new patients, we have to build some capacity to make sure you don’t just find another way to get to about the same place. This is why the concepts in this Thrive in 5 are so central to your understanding of practice management. If your current capacity is 400 office visits per month, and then an influx of additional new patients will not change your office visit volume, unless you find a way to grow your capacity.

You could work faster and reduce the time you spend in each office visit. You could work more days or hours, or add another doctor, and or some staff. You could develop better systems or technology, or you could change your mindset or your attitude, or find some other way to increase your capacity. You’ll always have some new people coming your way, but unless you love the conquest of solving the riddles new patients typically bring in with them, it’s generally easier to see a lifetime patient who already knows you and your style, shares key values, and is less likely to create any communications friction.

So, let’s talk about how to mold the new patient you attract into the type of lifetime patient you love taking care of. A critical decision point for the patient comes early in care at the report of findings. Prior to the ROF, patients often have previous beliefs about chiropractic and about you, so the report of findings gives you an opportunity to get on the same page with the patient.

Having a well orchestrated system of intake, with consultation, history, and exam, and a compelling report of findings that’s presented in a language the patient can comprehend and use, is the best foundation to build upon. Getting buy in at the beginning is a necessary precondition to establish an ongoing relationship that suits their needs, and yours.

Next, you must have a simple and thorough method of patient education designed to help the patient learn something each visit about how what you do helps them and those they care about. Third, when you punctuate your program of care with periodic re examinations and progress reports, you maintain a grasp on your case management.

A good re exam explains to the patient, here’s where you were, here’s where we are, and here’s where we’re going. That way, your communication puts their pain in proper perspective, and they begin to see how better function determines the need for ongoing services, rather than simply relief. Once you have face placed patients in their programs of care, re-exams are the best time to firm up the patient’s commitment.

If you’ve laid a foundation of function pointing toward lifetime care, you can praise their positive changes and still point to the distance left to be covered beyond relief, which encourages them to follow through, so it’s less likely you’ll have to chase them for their office visits. Finally, for those patients who do disengage for whatever reason, it pays to have an effective recall system in place, so no one slips through the cracks.

If a patient misses a visit, call him or her within 15 minutes to reset the appointment, the same day if possible, but always consistent with the frequency of the patient’s predetermined adjustment schedule. If someone doesn’t make up the visit on schedule, that should trigger a consultation with the doctor to check the patient’s level of commitment and willingness to follow your recommendations.

It’s better to address these glitches early to avoid them picking up negative momentum. If someone disappears for any length of time, they should also go into your recall system so that periodically you contact those patients who discontinued care prematurely. Often, a prompt will reconnect them and cause them to get back on their program.

If not, at least they know they’re important to you and many will at some point re engage. It should be obvious that the best recall system is not to need one because you do such a great job enrolling, educating, and recommitting patients that your schedule is full of lifetime patients. The only way to diminish your dependence on new patients for your livelihood is to create a practice where patients connect, engage and follow through.

These systems have been time and battle tested and will help you outgrow your need for new patients and instead attract and accept those new patients you enjoy and prefer to care for. If you want to learn more, scan the QR code on your screen to go to the six essentials landing page, or you can leave your questions below and I’ll respond.

Thanks for watching. I’m Dr. Dennis Perman from The Masters Circle Global, where legends are made and legendary practices are built through chiropractic.

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