Tips For Supercharging Your Podiatric Practice

Posted on: Tuesday, February 4th, 2014

Do you need help supercharging your practice? In this article, we focus on ways to increase revenue, patient satisfaction and overall viability in a podiatric practice.

1. Start Using Biomechanics More Broadly

Did you know that well over 90% of podiatric patients are suffering from some degree of over-pronation? Statistics also show that 50% or more of patients could use biomechanical assistance to correct structural imbalances. While podiatrists are trained in wound care, surgery and a plethora of other medical treatments, there is a way to treat conditions before they have to lead to such drastic measures.

Using biomechanics in your practice is faster, cheaper and less time consuming. Even more importantly, you will see results across the boards when you know exactly what you are looking for and what to correct in your patient’s gait.

Our technology, Structured Biomechanics, gives a Podiatrist the ability to quickly perform a biomechanical assessment, cast a patient for orthotics and get him on the road to a pain-free life in a matter of days.

2. Improve Existing Paperwork and Clinical Documentation

When you have all the necessary information at your fingertips, you are able to make better decisions. Have a system for managing your practice is of the utmost importance. While this is obvious and even somewhat cliche, what isn’t is the fact that your paperwork may not be giving you that information in an efficient manner.

At DPM Practice Solutions, we have created a biomechanical assessment form that provides all the key points in a clear and easy to use manner. Coupled with our biomechanical assessment techniques, you will be able to assess a patient’s gait in less than a minute and know exactly what needs to be address along the kinetic chain for them to live a pain-free life.

Having distinctly clear and organized documentation is crucial to any podiatric practice.

3. Collect Patient Testimonials and Videos and Promote Them

We sometimes fail to promote our positive results. This is also the case with our patients. Having Patient Success forms in your practice, and inviting patients to fill them in when they achieve their treatment goals is a must. Make sure to add a checkbox on your forms asking for “OK to publish this success story”.

Be sure to film your patient’s gait before, and after treatment and always ask for permission first. These videos can be used to close future patients and will help to provide credibility to your practice.

Encourage patients to leave reviews on social media sites such as your FaceBook page, twitter accounts and Google+.

When you can demonstrate to that patient that they have met and in most cases, exceeded their goals and expectations as laid out in the initial paperwork, at that point you hand them a piece of your letter head and you ask them for a testimonial!

Most every patient is more than happy to write one and that is in fact how we have accumulated the hundreds and hundreds of success stories that we keep in large three ringed binders in our waiting room and throughout our treatment rooms.

Practically every patient thumbs through these binders while they are waiting to be seen and to say the least, this is a very a powerful promotional action. Seeing how other patients have dramatically benefited from your services excites patients and helps them formulate what they themselves want to accomplish with your services.

Summary

When you successfully apply these principles to your patient base,  you will begin to reap the benefits of doing more within your practice. Your confidence and excitement creates a buzz that your patients will feel from both you and your staff the moment they walk through your door.