Why You Have Missing Patients

As a chiropractor we are dependent on the power of the body to heal, the compliance of the patient to follow our advice and internal and external environmental stress we have little control of. As a doctor, a teacher and healer our demeanor with our patients will help our success. If you are confident with your adjusting techniques, your use of therapies, rehabilitative skills and nutritional advice then your strong belief will result in a confident patient. This extends to your staff as well who know that their interaction with patients is an extension of you.

You know that some patients require more patience than others. Some need extensive hand holding while others require lots of cajoling. No one said our job was going to be easy. We don’t have analgesics to numb their pain or the fear of death if they don’t follow our advice. Our power is patient knowledge and their value of our work. Look through your inventory of lost patients and probably many, if not most, weren’t provided the education needed to make the proper choice of staying with your program and just dropped out. It takes practice persistence of the basics, mentioned in last week's e-newsletter, to keep your success momentum ongoing. 

 

Patients have multiple choices for treatment with medical care often their first stop. If an over the counter analgesic is not satisfactory, a visit to the local Urgent Care facility or their PCP may be in order. They may be referred to a physical therapist, may have tried a massage therapist and/or an acupuncturist finding their physical issue still an issue and search for an alternative .. chiropractic. Once seen by their medical physician they get a quick diagnosis and a prescription. There is much lacking here a void we fill quite well

Although the average chiropractor is a poor diagnostician, we are damn good structural scientists using posture and dynamic biomechanical criteria for solutions. A physical adjustment when effective is often an emotional adjustment as well reducing stress in multiple ways. Have confidence that our honored profession is the solution they seek. 

Unfortunately, many doctors know what needs to be done but often have a difficult time sharing it with their patients. Our explanations may be too complicated or full of fluff. But the patient to gets it, they must get it, a great presentation down to their level is crucial and stimulates referrals. Patient compliance is the key to their success and again some form of education is a must.

Reach them with enough information verbal and visual so they realize their structural instability, via x-rays, their restricted lifestyle and choices, clear understanding of your examination, verbal or written reports and their vulnerability via their present lifestyle and past history. A simplified but complete explanation everyone deserves and with persistence on your part, they will share it with others

Look through your lost patient list and start reactivating them, but this time with the tools needed to keep them.