Walk your talk
By Susan Hoy

What do your patients see when they come into your clinic? Since you see the clinic every day, you may no longer see what your patients see. And you may be blind to things that affect your practice.

Walk around your office and look at it from a new patient’s prospective. You’ll see the image you are projecting. The condition of your furniture and equipment, the paint on your walls, the clutter, the cleanliness of the bathroom, your choice of lighting and music — all create a perception.

Your aim should be to have a professional-looking practice and to manage that practice with consistency.

Consistency helps reinforce the value of your care. Inconsistent office procedures destroy your relationship with your patients and contribute to patient dissatisfaction and dropout.

At the same time, your practice must look and feel professional. The question to ask is, “Does our office compliment the identity we are trying to create?”

CONSISTENCY

You and your staff should send a consistent message about chiropractic, as well as the type of clinic you are running. Assess your clinic for consistency in:

• Food and drinks. Do staff members have soft drinks and unhealthy snacks visible at their workstations?

• Ergonomics. Do your staff members have proper seating and workstation setups?

• Reading materials. What kinds of reading material do you offer your patients? Do you offer positive, healthy, inspiring material, or magazines full of negative articles and drug ads?

• Ambiance. What kind of music do you play in your reception area? Uplifting, inspirational, and motivational music in your reception room can place a positive energy throughout your office.

• Videos. Do you have a television in your waiting room? Or do you have a video player that runs information on chiropractic?

• Forms and paperwork. Inconsistent messages can creep into little things, such as paperwork. Do your letterhead, brochures, and business cards match in style, logo, and theme?

• Patient procedures. Do you have a system in place to process patients, payments, and insurance claims? A system provides consistency. It also lends professionalism to your office.

PROFESSIONALISM

Getting all messages consistent is important, but so is making them professional. Patients ask you for professional help; they expect you to project a professional image.

• Forms. Have your new patient forms been copied so many times they can hardly be read? Take the time to look over all of your office forms that patients see to make sure they are sending the proper message.

• Letters. How about the letters you are sending to your patients, how professional are they? Are your letters easy to read and understand? Is the grammar correct? Content clear? Is the information correct? (Mail-merge functions make mailing “personalized” information to patients easy, but if the wrong information is merged, the result is disastrous.) 

• Brochure displays. Do you have chiropractic pamphlets on display? Are the brochures dog-eared?

Rotate the information periodically and refresh it regularly. Put displays in your exam rooms, as well as in the reception area.

• Product displays. If you offer products to your patients (such as supplements, pillows, and ointments), do you have them displayed in an organized and inviting method? Are you patients able to access them? 

Susan Hoy is an award-winning team trainer and consultant. She presents training seminars for teams throughout the country and is the author of two team-training manuals. The newest is entitled Systemize, Organize, Simplify. Susan can be reached at 215-674-0130, suzzhoy@aol.com, or through her Web site at www.beefitup.net.