Mon. Apr 29th, 2024

I hear this a lot. DPC docs get stuck at a number and can’t move the ball uphill anymore. They get depressed about it. They worry that their practice will sink. And it might!

The truth is that until you hit a certain level (2/3 of what you want to cap your number at) you have to keep grinding.

How do you keep grinding? Well, first you need to make sure you are giving awesome care and service to your present patients. And there is nothing wrong with mentioning to them that you still have some room in your practice if they know anyone interested. That is all you have to say.

Next, you also need a daily plan on actionable items to move your practice forward. Here is an example from my book The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal:

This post will seem like a shameless self promotion and it may be. I will make a few bucks off it and I could use it, being retired and all. But the book is filled with prompts to do every day to get you new patients!

THAT’S A FULL YEAR OF IDEAS!!

Okay, I hope that helps. Keep grinding. You will get there but you just may need a little help.

35510cookie-checkHave You Hit a Plateau In Getting New Patients?
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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