Issue 9 - July 2003

Incorporate design ‘keys’ to unlock patient education in your office
By Glen David

A practice can only grow by increasing your patient visit average (PVA) or by increasing your quantity of new patients. The majority of our clients have found that it is far easier to “plug a leaky bucket” and retain patients through better patient education.

Believe it or not, the way your office is laid out affects how your patients learn. Office design helps patients focus. And the more they learn about chiropractic patients the more likely they are to return.

• Reception room. Your patient’s chiropractic experience begins as he or she first enters your reception room. Ensure that your front desk CA is friendly and the reception room is clean and inviting. After all, this is your patient’s first impression. Do not place the receptionist behind walls or separate him or her from the patients with glass windows.

Decorate with educational posters, placed tastefully and sparingly. Limit tri-fold brochures to a few key topics and ask your staff to distribute them in a systematized manner that supports the doctor’s education.

Too many times, we find 20 or 30 selections of patient education brochures hanging in display racks on the wall, aged to obscurity. While chock full of important information, too many of these can be overwhelming to patients. Flooding a patient’s senses with too much of a good thing will do more harm than good.

Strategically place a 24- to 27-inch television monitor (running continuous-loop patient-education video) in a position that takes patients focus away from the front desk. Never run broadcast television stations in your office.

• Your initial consultation. Your patient’s first impression of you occurs during your initial consultation. Consider investing in properly positioned video equipment that will allow you to show a brief pre-report video. Mount the monitor in cabinetry away from glare and at a convenient viewing angle.

Ensure that your first contact with the patient is a memorable one. Create a neat and organized environment. Avoid clutter.

• Your report of findings. When you give your report of findings, you want to focus your patient’s attention. Control distractions in the room in which you deliver the report. Limit inspirational posters to two or three.

Do not spread posters, view boxes and anatomic reference materials around the room. Rather, consolidate them into one focal point. Consider enclosing the view boxes with cabinet doors, which can close over them when you are through with your explanation. In this way, you can redirect the patient’s attention away from the props you used in the report so that he can see the sincerity in your eyes and hear the caring in your voice while being more HIPAA compliant.

• Patient lectures. Once patients begin their journey toward chiropractic wellness, your next opportunity at education – spinal health and wellness classes – is critical to retention. Although some offices may be designed with a special lecture room, this is not necessary.

Think “multi-purpose” when you design your office and allow sufficient space in your reception area or other room to conduct these classes. If the dust of construction has settled years ago, and you cannot adequately size the room, consider changing the feeling of the room. During your weekly set up, remove any chairs that will not be occupied. This will keep a healthy balance of professionalism and intimacy.

One more quick fix: Close the door and pull down the shades to help your patients “Focus, Focus, Focus.”

Directing your patients’ focus onto increased patient education will ensure their well-being and your rate of retention.

Glen David is president of Davlen Associates, Ltd., a design/build firm specializing in chiropractic offices. He can be reached at 631-64-3511.