What does this really mean to you as a private practice owner currently, especially with elevated societal and economic stress?

Primarily this means that unless we are very careful about our policies and procedures, private practice will be more difficult than it needs to be.

One of the biggest choices, which will influence profitability and most especially stress level of your practice is who you choose to accept as patients or refer on.

This is one of the most difficult things for new practitioners to learn. But those of us who have been around for a while understand completely the disruptive factor that even one uncooperative, or frankly unpleasant patient can have on an entire practice!

So, what is the solution? Patient selection begins with the very first phone call. Your staff should have a darn good idea right from the very beginning about who is liable to be difficult and who is most serious about getting healthy.

Also, there is no reason today for any practice to have financially unfriendly policies and procedures. DPC makes it easier than ever to make care affordable for patients. 

But all this means you need to engage in regular top-down management and training of your entire team. Since patient selection begins on the phone, spend some considerable time developing a proper intake system for your practice. 

This is where reviewing telephone scripts, web forms, and even patient emails can tell you a whole lot about perspective patients.

Lastly, do not neglect your social media channels and keep a daily, personal presence there as well. In fact, correctly done, social media is already helping you attract your ideal patient! I know this is something you may never have considered in depth but take my lead on this. 

Careful choices all the way around will build bigger, more profitable practices.

If you are a reader of this column, you know we advocate Practice by Design™. In fact, I wrote the book on this! If you do not already own a copy of Living and Practicing by Design, grab it off Amazon today!