Seeking Direction
By Kathleen Casbarro For ICD-10 transition, It’s Essential to Choose the Right Path Should Ben start practicing the new style of documentation long, or wait until he has to do it? “It’s great that you’re not experiencing pain any longer,” Ben told his last patient of the day, “but remember to come in for regular adjustments and keep it that way.” The young woman hefted her tote bag and stepped through the door. “I know I should, but somehow if I’m not having any pain I don’t make the time.” Ben commiserated. “Let’s go ahead and make your appointment now,” he suggested. “That way you’ll have that part done. Pam, can you help Sheila?” “Of course!” Pam took over with a warm smile.Ben understood what his patient meant. He had been trying all day to get used to the new clinical documentation he’d have to be using once the shift to ICD-10 codes took place. He had tried to note which side of the body each issue involved and to write notes with the level of specificity the new system would demand. It hadn’t been hard at first, but it had been a busy day. As patients mounted up and he and Pam skillfully navigated through a day filled with surprises as well as scheduled events, it got harder to take the time for the new style of documentation — and easier to fall back on the old system he found so comfortable. After all, it really wasn’t a problem right now if he skipped the notes on laterality or wrote something with less detail. The pain wouldn’t come up till later, so it was tempting to just wait till later to make the changes. In fact, Ben mused as he moved through his end-of-day routine, making the changes now was actually causing some pain. It was slowing him down a bit, distracting him from his key priorities, and probably irritating Pam and the rest of the team. Was it better to get a head start on it now, possibly lessening the pain of the transition in October but also perhaps lengthening the amount of time there’d be pain in the office? Or should he wait till closer to the time? In fact, maybe the best solution would be to do his documentation in the usual way and pass those on to Pam and the team, but then also to produce a second set of notes that would provide enough detail for the new set of codes? But then, Pam and the rest of the team wouldn’t benefit from the head start he would be getting. Ben suddenly realized he had been standing frozen in thought, one hand holding his car keys out in front of him and the other reaching for the door, for — well, an embarrassingly long time if anyone had happened to be looking. He shook his head and got back in motion. It was hard to know the right thing to do, that was all there was to it. Should Ben start practicing the new style of documentation, or wait until he has to do it? Visit our ICD-10 page to learn how ICD-10 diagnosis codes have been built into Genesis Chiropractic Software.
How To Add 10-20 More New Patients To Each Chiropractic Spinal Screening!
Need New Patients? Hello, my name is Dr. Tabor Smith and I have done hundreds, if not thousands, of spinal screenings in different cities across the country. I know how to conduct a successful spinal screening, and unfortunately I also know how to fail miserably at it (been there, done that, got the T-shirt). It took several years of doing 2-3 spinal screenings a week before I actually started seeing consistent, reproducible results with my procedures. I even started to research and implement different neuropsychology methods to help me get the edge, so to speak, when it comes to communication and sales. As anyone who has done spinal screenings before will tell you, “They are not as easy as just putting up a sign.” People of this day and age are so accustomed to being sold-to that any type of service being advertised for free is automatically interpreted as an untrustworthy sales gimmick. So how do we overcome these social avoidance reflexes that have become so ingrained into our society? I’ll show you. One day, as I watched hundreds of people walk out of their way to avoid going by my booth, I discovered there are really only two reasons why someone would not want a free spinal screening: 1) They don’t think they need one, and 2) they don’t believe I could help them even if they did stop and get a screening. What I began to realize is that there was really not much I could do about the people who didn’t think they needed a spinal screening. After all, you can’t really change someone who is that determined to not receive your services, and arguing with them never solves anything. However, I knew I could definitely do something about the second group. These people knew they needed something, and deep down they really wanted a spinal screening or were at least interested in one — they just didn’t believe I would be able to help them. So, I asked myself, “How do businesses overcome disbelief in their product and show the world that it works?” Testimonials! But instead of just creating a poster with patient endorsements (which I did do), I realized the importance of going a step further. This extra step is what adds 10-20 MORE new patients into every big spinal screening that I do. I will share this with you in hopes that you too can have better success at every one of your screenings. More success at your spinal screenings means more lives changed, and that means that together we can take the profession of chiropractic to a higher level. It starts with making each potential client (new patient) feel welcome rather than intimidated. The first person to approach a potential client at your spinal screening is your greeter. This person stands out in front of your booth and welcomes people in. The trick to increasing the number of lives you can touch at your spinal screening is to make your greeter a walking testimonial. If you have been in practice long enough, you know what I am talking about when I say, “Ask a sneezer to help you at your spinal screening.” A “sneezer” is a patient who has had such great results in your office that they share it with everyone they meet. This person has referred dozens of people to your practice, and they have already joined in your mission of bringing chiropractic to the world. These people make great greeters at your spinal screenings, so give this strategy a try, and chances are you will see how much easier it makes each screening. For example, sometimes I have people walk into my booth asking me where to sign up, before I even do an actual screening on them. Another great thing about it is that most of the time it doesn’t cost you a dime. My sneezers are happy to trade a month or two worth of free care in my office for a day or two of helping me share the life-changing message of chiropractic with our local community! Genesis Chiropractic Software recently hosted a special invite-only webinar with Dr. Tabor Smith! He revealed all of his tips and strategies that have helped him schedule 72 NEW patients at a single spinal screening! Click Below… >>> Watch Now: Spinal Screening Webinar! <<< Thanks for taking the time to read my guest blog. A special thank you to Genesis Chiropractic Software for allowing me to post on their blog, and for all the great things they are doing for the profession. I am proud to be associated with them. – Tabor Smith D.C.
From the Wrist Watch, to Siri, to Smart Software
Ask a room full of under 25 year old professionals if they are wearing a wrist watch. If you are over 25 you will be surprised at how few are actually wearing one. Why? The digital world has eliminated the need to look at you wrist to tell the time. The time is everywhere. It is on their phone, on their computer, in their car. For the most part they can find the time at any given time without the major inconvenience of looking at their wrist. In the past a wrist watch was a status symbol. It meant you were able to afford the latest technology. It said, “I am a serious business person”. I heard a quote one time, “I never trust a man who does not wear a watch”, but why? It meant they valued their time and yours. That they lived for more than the present moment and considered the future. Wearing a watch meant you were forward thinking. My how things have changed. So what does this have to do with Siri and chiropractic software? Clearly the new status symbol is the cell phone, or now, “smart phone”. Not only does it say you are cutting edge, but it means you are connected and it even means you are more intelligent Prediction: 30 years from now wrist watches will be for collecting and old people. There is another important distinction sown by the modern smart phone. They are “smart”. Siri has a name. Let me say that again, you can name your phone. Why name it? Because it talks back! You actually have a relationship with your phone! What does the phone tell you? Forget an appointment book. Remember that thing you used to carry around? Gone. Not needed. An analog/paper version. You used to have to memory manage you schedule for the day and tomorrow and next week. Not anymore. Just tell Siri. In the past, busy people, like chiropractors, might have an entire full time or part time employee just to manage their appointments. Not any more. From Siri to Smart Chiropractic Software There was an in between step from the appointment book to Siri (Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface). That was a digital appointment book. Remember the PDA? Same basic function as the paper appointment book but it saved a lot of space since you could store all of your contacts in it. There were the Palm, BlackBerry and even the original iPhones. Older chiropractic software like Platinum or Chirotouch rely on the wrist watch concept. They are not as bad as paper but they are NO Siri. They are like the Palm or BlackBerry. You can save lot of space, document digitally, and even make your office more efficient. The gaps between these types of systems and a system like Genesis Chiropractic Software are many but in this context, there is one glaring difference. This systems are not going to speak to you. They are not going to tell you how many no shows you have. What’s that? A report? That’s good but there is a big difference between having to look at a report (Appointment Book or PDA) and the report coming to you (Siri Talking to you). Genesis tells you, in the form of tasks, what critical patient relationship risks need to be addressed right now. It identifies the outstanding issues and assigns them to a specific staff member, maybe even you, automatically. There can be many types of tasks. Just to name a few: Missed Appointments Expired Care Plans No Future Appointments Balance Threshold Exceeded Daily SOAP Notes That Are Not Signed Compliance Red Flags Insurance Claims That Need Immediate Attention With software that functions more like Siri and less like a Blackberry, you can begin to gain control over all of the important things that need to happen every day because it is not dependent on you looking anywhere. The information comes to you. It is like not having to look at your watch or look at a blackberry to tell the time or what appointments you have tomorrow. The technology speaks to you in the form of tasks. When all critical tasks are put on one manageable dashboard you can see at a glance you can see who has the most work, what type of problems are happening most, and how much work there is and most importantly, what work did not get finished. Think of the billing software that finds the claims for you rather than digging through aging reports and having no idea if your biller is getting everything finished. Think of a schedule that is telling your team what they must to in order to maximize retention… Imagine a documentation and compliance system telling you when you put yourself at risk of an audit… Imagine a chiropractic software that markets to patients for you based on their specific demographic… Imagine how happy your patients will be when you and your team never miss a step… Your team is more efficient but at the same time more accountable to you. You sleep at night knowing you are safe from a major audit. Less time documenting, more time doing the things you love. Less stress trying to remember everything that needs to be done, more peace of mind. Genesis – The coming into being of something; the origin. This is a whole new world for chiropractic software.
Is Your Chiropractic Software A Piece of Junk?
The word “Guarantee” is good, but No Regret is what you really want. I bought an iPad about three months ago and it is obsolete today. Sound familiar? Imagine if it cost $15,000? What if your software is obsolete in 3 years? Don’t believe that can happen? Things are changing faster than you think. I’ll come back to this. I am about to show you the how “owning” chiropractic software is not only a misnomer (Sales ploy used to make you “feel” good about spending your hard earned money) but one of the riskiest investments you can make in your practice. While companies promise you it protects you, it actually leaves you and your practice vulnerable. I will debunk the big fat myth that it costs your less money to “own” a chiropractic software, (which you actually never do), and show you how you can guarantee that you will not regret your software decision. We will discuss the REAL cost of the two main types of systems and pricing models. Web bases systems vs. Client Server (The one they say you “own”) Data Protection – The biggest lie told today is that somehow your data is safer in your office. It is it better to backup your data offsite regardless. It is useless without the software anyway. Just ask doctors who were in the path of Hurricane Sandy which is better. In the end I will show you how web based systems like, Genesis Chiropractic Software and Billing, pay for themselves and possibly even put some money back in your pocket. Price Comparison SaaS (Software as a Service) – Is a pricing model. Today it is usually reserved for software that is web based. In the past other chiropractic software used this model and charged upwards of $700 per month. They got away with it for years and eventually switched to the “purchase” model. SaaS charges a smaller monthly fee with little to no upfront fees. Let’s do the simple math Some systems on the market are as cheap as $12,000. Compare that to the cost of a SaaS product at $250 per month. $12,000/$250 = 48 month. In other words, at $250/month it will take 4 years before you pay the same amount! Read on and you will see how you can go from 48 months to 60, 100 or unlimited months. Meaning it will never cost you more than $12,000 to use a system like Genesis. But then I own it after 4 years! Really? Do you own the code? Can you tell the company what to build next? What if they go out of business two years later? More importantly REMEMBER the iPad… When you “purchase” you are not buying software, you are buying a license to use the chiropractic software. The company that supports that chiropractic software could be gone tomorrow. Big Difference. If that happens your license is useless. Unless you want to buy the code. I promise you, it isn’t cheap. When you “purchase” you still need to pay for upgrades. $50 per month. Subtract $50 from the $250 that SaaS offers since upgrades are included in the SaaS model (that’s the service part of Saas). With that factored in 4 years becomes 5 Years Remember the iPad. I know what you are thinking, I get upgrades. True you get upgrades. You can buy new computers and they will send you the upgrades so what’s the big deal. Here it is. There are actually 3 things you need to be concerned about. The hardware – That is the actual computer. Those will need to be replaced on an ongoing basis regardless of what type of system you buy. The software code – This is what words are in the code, if you will. In other words you can add new paragraphs to a document in the English language. With software more words equals updates. The system adds function, features etc. That is great. The language – The breath of options is limited to the language the software is built in. When you buy a software you buy it knowing full well that the language your system will be written in 5 years from now has NO Chance of being upgraded. The language is the language. The reason Google is so successful is due, in part, to the fact they are constantly evolving the language they use. It’s not just the words. The capabilities are increasing because the language is changing. Since they are also web based they can upgrade their systems and you don’t see they difference. Just amazing new function. This is the same with your practice software. Software you buy will be limited in just a few years as web based systems language AND code rapidly change. Not so with client server systems. So you are paying a fixed fee because the functionality is fixed in time with today’s language. Clearing House Fees -Included with Genesis billing – $50/month with other systems – Now it takes 6 years to pay the equivalent of other systems. Network Maintenance – With web based systems, computers do not need to be networked together. Only connected to the web. Other systems require a server and network which will cost $1,000-$2,000 to set up. ….. Figure another $50 per month for upgrades to hardware, maintenance for the computer guy to fix things when they break down, and down time….. 8 years easy. Are you betting static software language is going to be as cutting edge in 8 years? Data Backup Service – $25/month 8.5 years (included with web based systems like Genesis.) Peace of mind – Infinite peace of mind. Genesis data center was in the path of hurricane Sandy and experience zero down time. Some clients who lost their office where able to be back up and running instantly with a wireless laptop or iPad. The didn’t lose any data. Others weren’t so lucky. Now what if they paid you? Why not? SaaS systems have it built into their price to have a referral fee. We pay