September '06, Questions from the Field
Building the practice of your dreams is still a bit of a numbers game: do the best you can on each and every patient encounter, without being vested in the outcome and see more patients.
Dear Coaches:
Yesterday I overheard a patient at the front desk tell the front tech that they were not going to reschedule their next appointment. I can’t begin to tell you what a funk that put me in the rest of the afternoon. I was in the middle of a cluster and didn’t have a chance to confront the patient directly, any advice?
Dr. T
Dear Dr. T,
Great question and one I think applies to most, if not all of us, at some time or other. Unfortunately, I have no magical platitudes or silver bullets to ease the discomfort of this dilemma. I can share with you though, as we study other businesses and industries we can observe that no business has ALL the customers; not even Wal-mart. I’ve never even been in one. So trust me when I say, as good as you may be; you will never be able to make everyone like you or follow all of your recommendations all the time.
Bill Cosby says: “I don’t know what the secret of success is, but the secret to failure is trying to make everybody happy”.
Our studies show even the largest practices have 25- 30% complete compliance with doctors’ recommendations.
Building the practice of your dreams is still a bit of a numbers game: do the best you can on each and every patient encounter, without being vested in the outcome and see more patients.