Thursday 15 September 2011
Chiropractic Marketing - Troubles with Patient Compliance?
Have you ever had patients that suddenly drop out of care? Never talked to you or your staff about discontinuing care, they just one day didn't show up. You had your staff call them to find out what happened and after the second time calling, they said that they didn't feel that they were getting better because they were still having days where they felt pain.
One of the most common reasons why chiropractic patients drop out of care is because they are not educated about how they will feel while undergoing chiropractic care. Or, if patients are fully informed, they will soon forget as all that they want to feel is better.
All too often, chiropractors will tell their consults only the "good stuff" (e.g.. they are going to start feeling better under care, we are going to get you back to being active again, you're going to have the ability to do more and more while under care, etc.) Although this is obvioulsy the main goal of any chiropractor, many chiropractors will neglect telling their patients the potential "bad stuff" because they are afraid that if they do tell their consults that, they won't undergo care.
To see our complete line of chiropractic posters, please visit our website http://www.promodocs.com and join our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter page from more great practice building tips and the latest developments at Promodocs.com!
We All Have Patients Like That!
One of the most common reasons why chiropractic patients drop out of care is because they are not educated about how they will feel while undergoing chiropractic care. Or, if patients are fully informed, they will soon forget as all that they want to feel is better.
All too often, chiropractors will tell their consults only the "good stuff" (e.g.. they are going to start feeling better under care, we are going to get you back to being active again, you're going to have the ability to do more and more while under care, etc.) Although this is obvioulsy the main goal of any chiropractor, many chiropractors will neglect telling their patients the potential "bad stuff" because they are afraid that if they do tell their consults that, they won't undergo care.
BIG MISTAKE!
It is for this reason (i.e. only telling the "Good Stuff") that the patient suddenly stops care for apparently no reason.
As with any course of care, patients as they heal will have their ups and downs. That is to say, patients will feel better one day, and the next they they may have regressed a bit and felt more pain. To you, the chiropractor, this is a normal event during care. But to the patient, this is a sign that your chiropractic treatments are not working!
Here is the other problem with patients, especially for those chiropractors that have a high volume, open-concept clinic where patient are not only having a fast treatment, but are not encouraged to talk (they have to book a special appointment if they would like to discuss their treatment or they may not want to talk about their problem because everyone will hear), patients typically, especially in the early phases of care, may be too shy or intimidated to discuss your treatments.
So, if you have a patient that is not only having ups and down in their symptoms, therefore questioning your effectiveness and are not airing out their concerns, you can bet without a shadow of a doubt, that they are going to drop out of care!
So What Can You Do About That?
Fortunately, the answer is VERY simple and easy! Tell the patient the truth! Patients, especially chiropractic patients are more likely to undergo care if you tell them the "good stuff" AND the "bad stuff".
Why? Because it will build trust between you and your patient!!
As unfortunate as it is, chiropractic consults can be very skeptical about chiropractors! You may not want to believe that, but it's true. Many M.D.'s knock chiropractic and the media tends to do a good job in putting chiropractic in a bad light. So, by addressing the "bad stuff" with your consult, it shows them that you are not hiding anything from them and that you're being HONEST about your care.
Here's a FACT... telling patients the "bad stuff" will increase your closing ratio!!
So make sure that you tell the patient something like... "Although it is obvious that our ultimate goal is to return you back to where you were prior to your injury, you may at times have days during care where you may feel pain. In fact, at times it may seem to you that your problem has returned. This is normal and as we start to rehabilitate your spine (or whatever area you are treating) and stabilize it, the frequency of these pain episode will be less and less" Followed by... "If you ever have any questions or concerns about your care, please always feel free to talk to me. You're treatment is a team effort and it's important to your healing the we have open lines of communication, okay?"
But of course, you will not always be able to continually remind this to your patients while they are under care. Hence, it is for this reason that Promodocs.com ( http://www.promodocs.com) has designed a poster that acts as a constant reminder of this concept to your patients!
We call this poster "Stay The Course" and it is one of our most popular chiropractic posters.
As you can read, this chiropractic poster reminds your patients that it is normal to have their good days and bad days while under care, and why. In addition, this chiropractic poster not only encourages patient to continue with care - Stay The Course, but it also encourages doctor-patient communication.
So this is a very powerful poster to keep in your adjusting room to maintain patient compliance and retention!
This poster is 18"x24" (HxW) and is ONLY $29.50! (check out our FREE Shipping special!)
To see our complete line of chiropractic posters, please visit our website http://www.promodocs.com and join our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter page from more great practice building tips and the latest developments at Promodocs.com!
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