http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/ en Copyright 2010 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:15:50 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss You’ve probably heard that “England and America are two countries separated by the same language.” Apparently, add chiropractic to the mix and you have an even greater separation. I mention this because on Monday, March 8, 2010 the General Chiropractic Council (GCC), the governmental body ostensibly created to “protect patients” (apparently from chiropractors) and “set standards” (apparently for chiropractors), released their new leaflet (brochure), “What can I expect when I see a chiropractor?” Besides being a collector of chiropractic brochures going on 25 years, I’m keenly interested in what the GCC might have to say. Especially in light of the recent brouhaha regarding what is permissible for a chiropractor to publish on his or her practice website in the UK. I quickly found two serious, yet common errors on the second page. And they weren’t merely typographical errors.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/crossing_the_line.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/crossing_the_line.html Musings Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:15:50 -0700 I met the author of Killing Sacred Cows, Garrett Gunderson at the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance (CLA) Total Solution boot camp about two weeks ago. Then, I listened to his On Purpose interview and immediately bought his book. It profoundly resonated with me, and as a chiropractor, it probably will with you as well. If you’re living your Soul Purpose, why would you want to retire from chiropractic? Is there any basis for the belief that we should work at a job for 40 years, become economically stagnant (retire) and then die? And that’s just the start. If you or your spouse have an IRA, 401k or some other retirement fund, after reading this book you might see the folly of it, and like me, take the penalty and tax hit and shut it down. You and I are held in financial bondage by believing many of these myths. Such as “Money is Power,” “High Risk = High Returns” and even the classic, “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned.” If you have any hope of not being a ward of the state in your old age, read this book!]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/what_im_reading_15.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/what_im_reading_15.html What I'm Reading Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:02:45 -0700 really want. Sure, they want relief, but what they really want is something far greater. Don't settle for the "first right answer." Dig. Whether it's a new career, a life partner or a sense of ease, it all begins by seeing it. Help them form a clear and vivid mental image of it. Remind them of how it could be. Help them see beyond the distractions of the urgent present and transport them to the possible future. Keep their focus on the goal. Leaders are actually servants, helping others get what they want. When you add value in this way, not only will you be handsomely rewarded, you'll have delivered the most powerful adjustment of all: hope.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/monday_morning_motivation_169.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/monday_morning_motivation_169.html Monday-Morning-Motivation Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:41 -0700 When we set up chiropractor websites through our sister company Perfect Patients, it doesn’t take long before the conversation turns to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is the art and science of getting a website to become visible to the major search engines and rank highly for the search terms someone might use to find a chiropractor on the Internet. There are probably as many or more misconceptions about SEO than myths about chiropractic! When you eliminate the smoke, mirrors and hyperbole surrounding SEO for chiropractors with websites, it’s a sobering game changer. Allow me to do so.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/getting_on_page_one_of_google.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/getting_on_page_one_of_google.html Chiropractic Marketing Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:50:10 -0700 burnout. While burnout tends to show up as a lethargic, low-energy physical malaise, it's actually an emotional issue. It's a sign your emotional "checking account" is overdrawn. This overdraft is often the result of investing yourself in situations in which you have little or no control. Such as, whether your intervention produces results quick enough to please patients. Or, whether patients will follow your recommendations. The lack of control, unrewarded effort and patients who want you to do all the work, create a dangerous, "if-they-don't-care-why-should-I" attitude. Patients aren't the problem. The real culprit is failing to establish clear boundaries. At your report, clarify where your responsibility ends and the patient's begins. Make sure they know that in many ways they control the outcome of their care more than you do. Even better, avoid the temptation of showing up as the heroic rescuer.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/monday_morning_motivation_168.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/03/monday_morning_motivation_168.html Monday-Morning-Motivation Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:00:08 -0700 “Hi, my name is Steven and I’m a patient pleaser.” “Hi Steven.” No, there isn’t a 12-Step Program for patient pleasers, but if there were, plenty of chiropractors would be attending. Apparently, when you choose a profession like chiropractic that doesn’t fit into the accepted mainstream model, you have two choices. Either dumb down chiropractic and round off the sharp edges to make it something more palatable, or morph yourself into something you think will get patients to like you. Both are common strategies that produce unhelpful and counterproductive results. Perverting chiropractic or contorting your personality in the hopes of being more attractive, acceptable or influential is the ultimate sellout. Eventually it makes you feel dark inside. It requires massive amounts of energy to sustain and turns practice into a joyless routine of fixing spines and biting your tongue. If you find yourself in one or both of these circumstances, you may find the following observations helpful. ]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/are_you_a_patient_pleaser.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/are_you_a_patient_pleaser.html Musings Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:11:30 -0700 No talk about symptoms. How to you expect to change what symptoms mean to patients if they're not allowed to talk about them? Wellness is superior to relief. How will patients believe the benefits of regular checkups if they don't start care, stop care and experience a relapse or two? Drugs are bad. Every cult needs an enemy and medicine is a convenient target. Drugs aren't the enemy. Beliefs about symptom treating are. These and others suggest a profound mistrust of patients. Hijacking their free will, even if justified in a patient's best interest, is parental and potentially exploitive. Such practices require a constant replenishing of new patients as the limitations of their power is revealed by patients who discontinue care without notice and rarely refer others.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_167.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_167.html Monday-Morning-Motivation Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:00:15 -0700 Is it possible to rehabilitate and retrain the supporting muscles and soft tissues of the spine in patients over the age of 30 with the dozen visits or so doled out by an insurance company? Symptomatic improvement? Probably. Lasting soft tissue changes? Unlikely. This means their symptoms are almost certain to resurface months or years after discontinuing their care. Usually from some new physical, emotional or chemical stressor. When it happens, will they return to your practice for follow up care? Or cozy up to the new chiropractor in town? Or give up on chiropractic all together? It depends upon several issues that many chiropractors have overlooked.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/i_just_fix_em_too_good.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/i_just_fix_em_too_good.html Musings Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:06:02 -0700 Consultant. Don't have a paperwork system? Need help with patient flow or office layout? Don't know what you don't know? You may need a practice consultant. Coach. Do you lack discipline? Do you know what to do, but need someone to nag you to take courageous action steps? You probably need a coach. Accountability partner. If you want to use peer pressure to motivate action, perhaps something as simple as a monthly breakfast meeting with a local colleague or mastermind group will do the job. Mentor. This is someone who holds similar values as you and is living them in a way that you aspire to express yourself. Their association with or knowledge of chiropractic may not be essential. Don't buy a hammer if what you need is a wrench! ]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_166.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_166.html Monday-Morning-Motivation Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:47:38 -0700 Apparently the “Tastes great!” “Less filling!” debate within chiropractic rages on, pitting the evidence-based-scientific-give-me-proof-med-heads against the anachronistic-paleochiropractic-subluxationophiles. (I didn’t make those up. They’re terms extracted from an actual email exchange between chiropractors!) Each points an accusatory finger at the other, assigning blame for what ails the profession, their practice or the sacred cow of “public perception” about chiropractic. What’s so amusing, and at the same time tragic, is that neither party in this isometric, how-many-chiropractic-angels-can-fit-on-the-head-of-a-pin argument is capable of convincing the other. Neither can win. However, both can lose, if nothing more than the time wasted while having this self-indulgent exchange. Actually, this debate has little to do with chiropractic.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/youll_see_it_when_you_believe.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/youll_see_it_when_you_believe.html Musings Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:33:50 -0700 Do you care too much? With a tip of the hat to comedian Jeff Foxworthy of "You-might-be-a-redneck-if..." fame, you might care too much if you... ...feel a twinge of anger when patients miss an appointment or disregard your recommendations. ...adjust a new patient on the first visit because you hope it will validate you or your subsequent recommendations. ...become defensive when a patient mentions they're unhappy with the pace of their recovery. ...assume that when patients discontinue care unexpectedly it's because of something you forgot to say or do. ...permit patients to run up large balances because you're uncomfortable asking to be paid. And it's not only what you say. It can be a raised eyebrow, a judgmental tone or imposing an expectation beyond the patient's limited level of commitment. Care, but don't care too much. It's the "social" part of "...optimum physical, mental and social well-being" of healthy chiropractors. http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_165.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_165.html Monday-Morning-Motivation Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:36:46 -0700 Yes, I freely confess. I’m a Seth Godin junkie. So it was great delight that I saw his newest book on my visit to the bookstore on my way home from my chiropractor Tuesday. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? does not disappoint. And while I’m only on page 39, Seth (I think since I’ve devoured every book he’s written, I’ve earned the right to call him by his first name) has done it again by picking up on a nuance others overlook and teasing it out for everyone’s benefit. Naturally, if you’re the one moving the freight, sweating over a hot adjusting table all day, then you’re indispensable. But how do you attract and train your staff to “own” their job and rise to the many opportunities of a paraprofessional? I predict you’ll find some helpful answers between the covers.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/what_im_reading_14.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/what_im_reading_14.html What I'm Reading Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:42:50 -0700 Enormous amounts of energy are consumed in an attempt to get patients to do the “right” things to promote healing, advance their health and improve their well-being. Many professional caregivers seem bent on saving patients from themselves. Others seem resigned to the apparent fruitlessness of the effort and apply their ministrations with a detachment almost bordering on indifference. Can you change the priority that patients place on their health? Without looking through a spiritual lens, you might see the task before you as merely using the right videos to educate patients or delivering a persuasive rof. Certainly these can be helpful, but there is something else at work here that you might want to consider. And it may dramatically change how you communicate with patients.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/spine_mechanic.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/spine_mechanic.html Patient Priorities Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:17:31 -0700 your compass, not theirs. Absolutely be friendly. But be careful that you don't cross the line between being friendly and being friends.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_164.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/02/monday_morning_motivation_164.html Monday-Morning-Motivation Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:00:33 -0700 If you’ve been seduced by the widespread belief among many chiropractors that your purpose is to adjust patients, you’ve reduced yourself from a human being to a human doing. A meat computer. A carbon-based pneumatic device. Your purpose isn’t to adjust patients. More likely, adjusting patients helps advance your purpose. True, delivering adjustments, the “doing” of chiropractic, can be performed as a mere physical maneuver; a linear, biomechanical intervention. And often is. Even devoid of the principles of chiropractic and the intent of reconnecting “man the physical with man the spiritual,” chiropractic can still deliver results appreciated by patients. Those who write off chiropractic philosophy as weird, unscientific and the dated rantings of Palmer cultists, fail to see that the metaphysics of chiropractic have been largely hijacked by the Chopra’s, Weil’s, Dyer’s and similar multi-millionaires. What mechanists are left with is the spinal therapy of chiropractic medicine.]]> http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/01/the_doing_of_chiropractic.html http://www.patientmedia.com/blog/2010/01/the_doing_of_chiropractic.html Musings Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:20:01 -0700