Smart Allied health professionals often over-think patient management?

Smart health professionals often over-think and over-complicate things the new patient visit...

Keeping it simple for some, can feel like an insult to their intelligence (and ego)

After many years in private practice, having over-complicated just about every facet of practice here’s some wisdom if this is tripping you up.

And No doubt it probably has.

In my view, patient management does not have to be complex. The message to our patients does not have to be complex.

Here are a few tips on what’s worked for me with my new patients over the years.

• Create ‘easy to digest’ bite-size chunks of information that are easily palatable to the patient.
• Create a basic step-by-step flow chart as you guide your patient thru the process. Then create a clear demarcation of each part of the consultation, i.e., examination > working diagnosis > treatment > home advice > follow up.
• Keep your examination succinct and clinically relevant.
• Listen, listen, and listen some more. Let the patient do the work. Your patient intuitively knows something is wrong and will provide you with many clues.
• Lead them to the next visit only. Avoid overwhelming the entire plan right at the beginning.
• Draw simple pictures. Your patient needs to know they are unique, and this is all about them. Avoid too many glossy brochures and fancy graphics too early on.
• Tell them they are in the right place.
• Practice active listening. Summarise the history they have just given you. This shows respect and attention to detail.
• Give them no more than 3 simple things before their next visit, e.g., get an X-ray, use a spikey ball with a specific exercise and walk 10mins per day. That’s it!
• Breathe and pause. Fewer words, more space. Talking ‘at’ the patient is an ‘assault’ on their senses. Trust that the patients you want to see will stay and the ones who are here for 1-2 visits are headed out the door irrespective of anything you say or do.

I all too often see Health professionals providing an abundance of patient education in the first visit, over-examining, over-treating, and over-recommending home-based advice in the hope they will look more competent, more professional, and be seen to be offering more…

But here’s the thing…more is more! Less is more but even better is more!

In my experience your patient has already decided they want to see you, your modality, and how many sessions they are prepared to pay for / commit to well before they present to your clinic!

So, for the most part, I see health professionals spending incredible amounts of time and energy presenting an ‘Oscar-winning’ new patient consultation only to have the patient drop out before the 2nd or 3rd visit!

So, to stand a fighting chance, the least you can do is avoid over-complicating the initial visit!

STOP spinning your wheels. You are most likely confusing your patients and pushing them away!

I know because this was me!

When I over-complicate the consultation, it’s just hard work and that’s because my ego wants to make it hard!

I want to feel special, that all the many hours studying to earn my degree are worth something. I want to be seen as intelligent, as the authority in my field. 

But I also want reasons to be stuck, a ‘poor-me’ way of thinking!

The reality is, that allied health practice is complex. We have studied for years, practiced for years and our patients often present with complex cases.

But our patients don’t care!

Sure, they want to know you have an appropriate qualification and you are

bone-fide, but beyond this, it’s all about getting a result and the hope is it will be simple.

Complexity, to our patients, means lots of visits which means lots of money.

So, you can start to see why you may be suffering, like so many other health professionals, ‘Early Self Discharge!

So, here are 4 questions to help get your wheels turning again.

What would this look if you could retain more of the patients you love to treat (which means fewer dropouts!)

Reframe your mindset so you can lessen the stress of patient management.

Improve your efficiency with processes and procedures.

Overcome overwhelm and find clarity in where you want to go in practice?

In summary...

• Don’t over-think the process. Break it down.
• Focus on connection and relationship first.
• Avoid the need to bombard the patient with education, advice, and treatment options.
• Breathe and listen.
• LET-GO. This is key to getting momentum & taking action.

Let me know how you found this? I'd love to hear.

“Yours in health and beyond”

Andrew

#earlyselfdischarge #milliondollarwellness #drandrewarnold

About: I write about helping allied health professionals in private practice retain more patients, reframing your mindset so you can lessen the stress of patient management, improving your efficiency with practice processes and procedures and overcoming overwhelm, and finding clarity with where you are headed and why?

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