Building Your Practice

There are important variables to consider when you decide to build your practice further; for example, you might be interested in turning your practice into a multi-disciplinary clinic, but are unsure of the risks and commitment involved. This podcast, the second in our series on practice management, gives you a starting point to help dispel some of your worries. Six months after opening Create a script to use with new patients Develop a "15 minute introductory consult" text to review with patients who want to come in and meet you. Determine what you will ask the patient in this time and what you will want to tell them (i.e., the principles of naturopathic medicine, ask them their goals and chief complaints and address how you would work with them to achieve goals, discuss health as a fluctuating process that involves body, mind, spirit…whatever resonates with your practice style).

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Develop an initial visit sequence that motivates the patient (don't forget to establish patient goals and set realistic expectations and timeline) and ask them how they found you (e.g., give them a one minute intro about yourself, tell them what to expect on the first visit, and in the coming weeks, set realistic expectations and timeline for work together, ask them their chief concerns, review the intake form, do vitals, give diet diary and review of systems form, book follow up for one week).

Assess patient retention and develop appropriate strategies
Get together with a group of colleagues on a regular basis to discuss ideas and share strategies that work for patient recruitment/retention and to share the workload (and for moral support).

Every two – three months, assess your practice through the eyes of your patients (walk through the clinic, note any areas that are not being cleaned, is other patient information out of view, is it easy to for new patients to find the suite, is the website representative of the clinic, etc...).

Determine your attrition rate (are you losing patients? if so, why?). Keep careful count of all new, returning and non-returning patients by month. Also keep track of how patients found out about you. It also helps to discuss referrals with patients and ensure that they visit frequently enough to achieve the health improvements they are seeking.

In the "down time", create three – four basic presentations that would appeal to local businesses and approach employee wellness coordinators of businesses in the area.