In chiropractic school, we are taught to examine, identify problems, create care plans, and to adjust patients. A lucky, or more prepared, few of us may have taken outside seminars to learn about strategies to bring more patients into our office, billing tactics to increase revenue, or practice management techniques. Yet, for all that we learn, the hours and years we put in to become Doctors of Chiropractic, we are never taught the most important part of having a truly successful business. We’re never taught to focus on the patient experience.
Just out of chiropractic school, I was no different. I was running what I believed was a successful practice. I was helping a lot of patients and making a lot of money.. At the same time, I was trying to wear too many hats – business owner, staff manager, doctor. Things were falling through the cracks without me knowing until it was too late.
I will never forget the day one of my patients came in and told me he was thinking of killing himself. No doctor is every really prepared to hear something like this, much less, a young doctor, still learning. My patient’s name was Chris and he had come to see me for low back pain, something chiropractors see every day. He had received his report of findings, had proceeded with care, and was getting great results and relief from the pain.
At his words, I felt shock. I asked what had happened. The story he told me was incredible. After coming to the class that I held for new patients, he had decided to turn his life around. Hearing the chiropractic message and learning how his health affected every aspect of his life as well as his family’s life, he had made a life-changing decision. He quit drinking. He quit drugs. He was going to get healthy for his wife and children and he was going to do it cold-turkey. But now, he felt like taking his own life.
After listening to Chris’ story, I was amazed that he had been affected so deeply by the chiropractic message and thankful that he had truly understood it to the point that he was determined to change his health to improve the future for himself and his family. And, I’ll admit, I was proud that my class, my words, had been good enough to change a man’s life. Yet, how could someone who had understood the message on such a deep level now think of killing himself?
Chris and I spoke about what he was feeling and how, after the years of punishment his body had been through, it was natural to have difficulty trying to achieve homeostasis again. I explained how the chemicals in his system had been affecting his whole life, including his thoughts and how things were now trying to balance out as his body fought to move toward health. He understood. He got it, just like he did the chiropractic message, and we continued care.
Then came the day when I realized that Chris had not been in for a visit in a while. Chris had understood the chiropractic message so completely that he should have been a patient for life. I pulled his chart to find out what had happened. That is when it became clear that once again, something important had fallen through the cracks. Chris had missed appointments, yet we had not followed up with him. His care plan had expired and his billing was not in order. These things that are so vital to patient retention had been missed. I immediately called Chris to find out how he was and to set up an appointment for a follow-up. That is when I found out that Chris was dead. He had taken his own life, just like he had talked to me about.
That is when I knew with complete certainty that the systems we had in place were not enough. We tried to call patients who missed appointments, follow-up on care plans, pre-arrange billing with patients, and so many other tasks every single day. Yet, sometimes, my staff became overwhelmed or simply forgot. Other times, they would give up calling a patient who had not responded. And, so many of our systems relied on memory, leaving my staff and I to juggle all of the responsibilities, hoping no one dropped the ball. We only knew to follow-up with patients when I or one of my staff realized someone had not been in to see us for a while. We only knew to check on insurance claims when someone remembered we had not been paid.
I knew that other industries used different technologies and software to manage the customer experience. Yet, the Chiropractic profession had no software to manage the Chiropractic patient experience effectively. There were many chiropractic software companies and practice management softwares available. However, not a single one broke down the patient experience into manageable tasks. And, not one offered one simple daily report to let the doctor know whether the necessary tasks had been performed. Instead, they all forced the doctor to wade through piles of reports, to check each individual aspect of the practice, an ineffective and time-consuming chore, at best.
To find a solution, I had to go outside of the chiropractic profession, to find out what big businesses use to manage the customer experience. Since that time, I have dedicated myself to finding a better technology to break down and manage every aspect of the patient experience and making it available to chiropractors. And, so that I would never forget the man who first opened my eyes to the necessity of managing the Chiropractic patient experience, I named my son Christian in his honor.
