Do you “Cheap Out?
If so, you are digging a gigantic hole in your financial future by not telling patients exactly what you have available to help return them to optimal health.
One of the biggest mistakes we can make in private healthcare is to treat the patient based on our own perceptions of what the patient may or may not be able to afford.
Worse yet is the private practice owner that lets their staff dictate financial policies in the practice, based upon their own financial belief systems.
One of the reasons this happens is too often we forget to look at the practice as the always-viable business it should be.
You need to know your expenses, staffing costs, etc., but you need to know most especially the life you desire to fund from the practice.
With all due respect, if you find frank discussions about finances and patients spending money uncomfortable, you are far better served to work for somebody else or practice in the public sector. This is becoming truer day by day.
The reality is we can start by taking a hard look at our own financial belief systems. If you think, that “no one in this town has any money,” I guarantee you this will manifest itself.
If, however, you move towards adding premium service options to DPC that your community craves (like pain management, laser therapy, esthetics, and clinical nutrition) you can have more fun helping more people while making an exceptional living.
If you doubt this, get a membership at a local health club, you know the ones with fancy personal trainers.
Better yet, sit in the reception area of a local spa, or even massage therapy franchise. Or the latest and greatest, get a “health coach.”
The very same patients who are telling you they can’t afford your fees are spending money on themselves elsewhere, I guarantee you more than you ever imagined.
Creating a more spa-like environment in our practices as I wrote about in “Living and Practicing by Design” can go a long way in growing not only the new members seeking our DPC but also an entirely new group seeking our added professional services.
So, start by simply asking your patients what services they wish you had available. This doesn't have to be fancy. You can have a questionnaire; you can post a social media question, or you can have focus groups.
Regardless don't overlook how much this simple strategy can not only add significant income but significant enjoyment and personal longevity to your private practice.
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