ON Chiropractic
Not all patient reviews are positive,
but negative feedback can be even
more valuable when used as a trigger
for improvement. It can be difficult to
read a less than glowing review, but
it is important to consider whether
a negative review has any truth to it.
What can you learn from this patient’s
experience? Does their experience shed
any light on things you may wish to try
changing? savour a nice breakfast. The way you
start your day sets the tone for the rest
of your day.
Remember to keep an eye on overall
trends rather than focusing too much
on a single review. Your professional morning routine may
include:
2
MEASURE YOUR
STAFF’S EXPERIENCES
Once you have done flow mapping
and cycle timing for your patients’
experiences, try doing the same with
yourself and your colleagues. Do your
staff feel rushed? Are your most-used
items easy to find? What changes would
need to happen to enable you to go
home almost immediately after your last
patient visit of the day, knowing that all
of the day’s work is complete?
Consider creating an “interruption list”
where you note anything that leads
you to step out of your treatment
room during a visit and anything that
interrupts a CHA’s interaction with a
patient. Some of these interruptions
can be reduced by instituting a daily
visit planning huddle between staff and
practitioners each morning before the
first patient arrives so you are ready to
tackle the day together.
3
HAVE A PROFESSIONAL
MORNING ROUTINE
Like many people, you probably have
a morning routine. Perhaps you make
your bed, go for a morning run, or
But once you arrive at your clinic,
do you have a professional morning
routine? Research suggests that each
choice we make during the day will drain
our mental energy, so starting the day in
a deliberate way can better equip you to
focus on the patient in front of you.
∞ ∞ Arriving early enough to greet
your colleagues, get familiar with
your schedule for the day, and feel
prepared rather than rushed. If your
first patient arrives early, you can
even start the day ahead of schedule!
∞ ∞ Looking over the patient files for
the day. Just 10 to 20 minutes of
review in the morning can help you
greet each patient with familiarity,
warmth, and start your conversation
where you left off at their last
appointment. This is also a chance
to ensure that you have the informed
consent and referral forms that
may be needed that day, along with
patient education resources.
∞ ∞ Getting something out of the way.
We all have administrative tasks we
avoid. Start the day with a sense of
accomplishment by checking one off.
∞ ∞ Have a quick staff huddle. Review
the day’s schedule and prepare for
it together, whether that means
gathering certain tools based on
your knowledge of that patient’s
usual preferences or ensuring that
the patients’ files include all of the
relevant test results and forms. These
preparations can help your patient
flow and ensure that you have
everything you need ready at hand.
4
GET BUY-IN FOR
CHANGES
In order for change to be successful
and long-lasting, you need the whole
team to be on board. There is always a
natural resistance to changes in work
processes, especially when someone
is busy. As you introduce and discuss
changes, emphasize the potential
benefits for each person. These
might include getting home on time,
improving work-life balance, having
pleasant interactions with patients, and
being able to do your best work without
feeling rushed or frustrated.
As you make adjustments to the way
your clinic functions, try to make just
one change at a time. Give your team
time to adapt to the new process and
measure the effects. Sometimes a
seemingly great idea has unintended
consequences, and moving in stages
can help you identify what is working
best.
5
DON’T PHONE
IT IN
Many of your patients will encounter
your clinic for the first time via your
phone system, so it is where many of
your first impressions happen. If it’s easy
and pleasant, you’ll leave a much better
impression than if it’s frustrating and
inefficient.
To examine whether you can improve
your phone system, start by counting
the number of incoming phone lines
you have and how many front desk staff
are covering them. If each person is
responsible to cover no more than two
phone lines, this will ensure that they
have no more than one person o