Welcome to the Planning for Practice Success Newsletter

 Practice Startup Success

Information Advice Encouragement

May 13, 2008                                                                         ISSN 1934-3248

"Working in the garden...gives me a profound feeling of inner peace."  Ruth Stout

In this issue:

Inner Peace.  It’s spring.  Finally.  And I’m getting really antsy to get out into my garden.  There’s something about digging in the dirt and planting things and then tending them and watching them grow that is very rewarding.  I found the above quote very interesting, so I went to Wikipedia to look up the subject of “Inner Peace.”  I found it compared to Homeostasis (everything usually ends up back with Chiropractic, doesn’t it?), and contrasted with stress and anxiety. 

I talked the other day with a new DC who was very stressed about the decision of whether to start a practice or work for someone else.  No inner peace at all.  I’d like to propose that, before you make the decision to start or associate, you do two things:

1. Spend some time writing up a list of all the reasons you want to start your own practice or associate.  Get down all your thoughts, positive and negative.
2. Then get away for a day and read over the list.  Pay attention to the “gut” reactions you have to the items on your list.  Which do you really believe and which did you write down because you felt you should?  Did “being my own boss” really have a deep meaning for you?  Or did it scare you?  In other words, “get in touch” with your feelings.  Which course of action deeply excites you, even if it scares you?  Which alternative is for money?  Which are you considering for your family or someone else?  Are you listening to your friends or doing it because it’s right for you?

Whichever course of action you take, remember one final thing:  Twenty years from now, who knows where you will be.  It really doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you are doing what you really want to do and you’re excited about it.  What’s the worst that can happen, with either alternative?  Remember the book, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and it’s all Small Stuff”?  Well, that about sums it up.  Which decision will give you inner peace? Once you know the answer to that question, you’ll know what to do. 

Let me know your reaction to this little article.  Did it help?

Why Patients Don’t Pay.  Have you wondered why it’s so difficult to get patients to pay you?  If you think about it, the same people who wouldn’t think of leaving Wal-Mart without paying will walk out of your office without a problem.  How come?

Here are some reasons people don’t pay:

•  They don’t have the money

• They don’t have the money today

• They think your service wasn’t worth it

• They think your price wasn’t fair

• They think if they don’t pay you won’t notice (LOL)

 So what can you do to get people to pay?

1. Make sure that “not money” is not an excuse.  Set up credit/debit card processing services (See my booklet on this subject to help you get set up.). 
2. Make sure your patients are satisfied.  Ask them.  Work hard at providing great service.
3. If you take care of providing fantastic service, people usually won’t argue about the price.
4. Make sure that the patient is reminded of his/her obligation to pay, as part of EVERY VISIT.  No exceptions.  Give the patient something to turn in to the front desk at the end of each visit and instruct the front desk person to say, “How will you be paying today – cash, check or card?”

Ask Dr. Jean Murray a question (email jean@dcpracticesuccess.com )
Order Planning for Practice Success™ or one of our other products (http://www.dcpracticesuccess.com/p4ps_orderpage.html)
 
Or call our toll free number at any time (24/7):  1-866-940-7526