Hello, my name is Dr. Tabor Smith and I have done hundreds, if not thousands, of spinal screenings in different cities across the country. I know how to conduct a successful spinal screening, and unfortunately I also know how to fail miserably at it (been there, done that, got the T-shirt).  

     It took several years of doing 2-3 spinal screenings a week before I actually started seeing consistent, reproducible results with my procedures. I even started to research and implement different neuropsychology methods to help me get the edge, so to speak, when it comes to communication and sales.      

      As anyone who has done spinal screenings before will tell you, “They are not as easy as just putting up a sign.” People of this day and age are so accustomed to being sold-to that any type of service being advertised for free is automatically interpreted as an untrustworthy sales gimmick. So how do we overcome these social avoidance reflexes that have become so ingrained into our society? I’ll show you.

    One day, as I watched hundreds of people walk out of their way to avoid going by my booth, I discovered there are really only two reasons why someone would not want a free spinal screening: 1) They don’t think they need one, and 2) they don’t believe I could help them even if they did stop and get a screening.

     What I began to realize is that there was really not much I could do about the people who didn’t think they needed a spinal screening. After all, you can’t really change someone who is that determined to not receive your services, and arguing with them never solves anything. However, I knew I could definitely do something about the second group. These people knew they needed something, and deep down they really wanted a spinal screening or were at least interested in one — they just didn’t believe I would be able to help them.  

     So, I asked myself, “How do businesses overcome disbelief in their product and show the world that it works?” Testimonials! But instead of just creating a poster with patient endorsements (which I did do), I realized the importance of going a step further.  This extra step is what adds 10-20 MORE new patients into every big spinal screening that I do. I will share this with you in hopes that you too can have better success at every one of your screenings. More success at your spinal screenings means more lives changed, and that means that together we can take the profession of chiropractic to a higher level.

     It starts with making each potential client feel welcome rather than intimidated. The first person to approach a potential client at your spinal screening is your greeter. This person stands out in front of your booth and welcomes people in. The trick to increasing the number of lives you can touch at your spinal screening is to make your greeter a walking testimonial.  

      If you have been in practice long enough, you know what I am talking about when I say, “Ask a sneezer to help you at your spinal screening.” A “sneezer” is a patient who has had such great results in your office that they share it with everyone they meet. This person has referred dozens of people to your practice, and they have already joined in your mission of bringing chiropractic to the world. These people make great greeters at your spinal screenings, so give this strategy a try, and chances are you will see how much easier it makes each screening. For example, sometimes I have people walk into my booth asking me where to sign up, before I even do an actual screening on them. Another great thing about it is that most of the time it doesn’t cost you a dime. My sneezers are happy to trade a month or two worth of free care in my office for a day or two of helping me share the life-changing message of chiropractic with our local community!

Genesis Chiropractic Software is hosting a special invite-only webinar with Dr. Tabor Smith THIS THURSDAY! He will be revealing all of his tips and strategies that have helped him schedule up to 72 NEW patients at a single spinal screening!  Click Below…

>>> Register: Spinal Screening Webinar Tomorrow Night! <<<

     Thanks for taking the time to read my guest blog. A special thank you to Genesis Chiropractic Software for allowing me to post on their blog, and for all the great things they are doing for the profession. I am proud to be associated with them.  - Tabor Smith D.C.

A Paper by Dr. John Davila

Dr. John Davila of Custom Chiro Solutions offered this great paper to our blog followers.  He is constantly asked questions about chiropractic software and compliance.

Since the word “compliance” can mean so many things, he wrote this summary paper help you become better informed before purchasing chiropractic EHR/EMR software.

The four main questions Dr. Davila discusses are: Does your chiropractic EHR/EMR

1. Calculate the length of time my patient is medical necessity?
2. Warn me if I forget to change the Box 14 date to match the latest exacerbation?
3. Check to make sure I am using wellness care codes at the right time?
4. Guarantee that your EHR data and patient records  are backed-up and stored according to HIPAA requirements?

Get the Paper here! CLICK

Chiropractic Software and Compliance Expert

John Davila, D.C., President and CEO of Custom Chiro Solutions, received his degree in 1994 from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. He has served as a Carrier Advisory Committee member for Palmetto GBA where he re-wrote the local chiropractic Medicare policy and trained nurses on documentation and medical necessity. Currently, he works to defend providers from insurance both insurance company and regulatory board complaints across Canada and The United States. His most recent product is a Genesis Chiropractic Software macro set that meets the most stringent requirements for Medicare.

Dr. Davila can be reached at 800-9974-3479

An increasing number of chiropractors have been experiencing anxiety about the future success of their practice. Their concerns span a gamut of issues– from lack of patient feedback about their patient relationships to lack of control of practice management processes to unpredictability of patient flow and cash flow to low profitability.

Shrinking practice profitability is a result of five forces that conspire for a “perfect storm:”

• Rising costs of doing business, from rent to payroll to insurance
• Shrinking insurance reimbursements
• Increasingly stringent regulations and growing frequency of audits
• Delays and underpayments of insurance claims
• Patient flow fluctuations

3 steps to gain control over your practice’s profitability:

Regaining your peace of mind and taking control back into your hands requires a methodical approach consisting of three steps.

1. Measure your case profitability and set a goal for it: Profitability or case profit margin is a ratio of case fees collected minus case costs, divided by case fees collected. Case fees collected is the money spent by the patient in your office over the lifetime of that patient.
2. Measure your patient visit average (PVA): The sad thing about profitability is that there is no way to control it directly. But the good news is that it grows in step with your Patient Visit Average (PVA). In other words, you can control your case profitability indirectly by controlling your PVA.
3. Increase your PVA:  Figure out ways to have your patients commit to more than one visit and keep implementing new ideas until your practice’s profitability meets your goals.

How to determine case fees collected?

The case-fees-collected statistic can be calculated by dividing total collections by the number of cases. This approach has a major shortcoming because it requires the chiropractor to wait until all cases have terminated. For a reliable approximation of the same number without waiting for termination of every patient, follow the two-step approach below:

1. Calculate all collections for a given time period.
2. Divide that figure by the total number of new patients for the same time period.

For instance, if Dr. Joe treated 20 new patients last month and collected $10,000, then his case-fees-collected last month were $500. In other words, the average patient last month spent $1,000 before terminating care.

How to determine case costs?

You can use the same approach to calculate your case costs:

1. Compile total overhead for the same time period used to calculate case fees collected.
2. Divide your total overhead by the total number of new patients for the same time period.

For instance, if Dr. Joe treated 20 new patients last month and his total overhead during the same month was $10,000, then his case-costs last month was $500. In other words, the care of average patient last month cost Dr. Joe $500.

What does Profitability mean?

If your fee to cost  ratio is greater than one then you have a profitable practice. Otherwise, you are losing money.  Common sense dictates that a profitable practice that takes care of its owner manages a 3:1 ratio of fees to costs, or about 67% profit margin.

A common fallacy among many practice owners is the belief that increasing the number of new patients positively impacts profitability. But this may not necessarily be true since increasing the number of patients also increases the overhead, potentially decreasing profitability even further and defeating the purpose of increasing the number of patients.

How to compute Patient Visit Average?

PVA is a measure of your retention, or your ability to retain patients. In other words, it is a relationship quality indicator. The higher the PVA, the better is your relationship with your patients. As in an earlier calculation, the Patient Visit Average statistic can be calculated by dividing total visits by the number of patients. This approach has the same shortcoming as above because it requires to wait until all patients have terminated. For a reliable approximation of the same number without waiting for termination of every patient,simply divide your total visits for a given time period by the total number of new patients for the same time period.

For instance, if Dr. Joe had 300 patient visits last month, including 20 new patients, then his PVA would be 15. In other words, the average new patient returns 15 times to see Dr. Joe.

5 steps for improving your PVA

The way to increase PVA is to create a lifetime-maintenance practice.  Maintenance patients have a greater understanding and appreciation of what chiropractic has to offer.  

1. Create customized treatment plans: Give your patients a customized plan that is tailored to their specific problems at the end of their first session.
2. Block schedule the entire plan in advance: Help your patients understand that you are offering them a complete treatment plan – not a session by session experience.
3. Train your team: Practice “role play,” including specific verbiage and intonation. Without practicing in advance, you leave it to your staff to come up with the right things to say on the spot.  Every mistake they make can keep a new patient from coming back and even more importantly – prevent them from benefiting from your treatment plan.
4. Set goals and display results: What you can measure, you can manage and on the same side of the coin what you measure will improve.
5. Go the extra mile: Send thank you letters for referrals.  Acknowledge special events like anniversaries, graduations, weddings, or funerals.  Thank your patients for being on time, complying with your treatment plan, and meeting payment deadlines.

Genesis’ Vericle billing platform has been updated with G-Codes and C-modifiers to improve compliance for all clients who work with a physical therapist in their chiropractic clinics.

Medicare is now requiring that G-Codes and C-modifiers are included on your physical therapy claims and documentation. This change is very complex and can not be done from memory alone. If these requirements are not met, providers will not get paid by Medicare and these claims will be denied.