What’s Your Story?

What’s Your Story? Why did you enter healthcare practice? I’m honestly curious to know…what’s your story? What challenges did you experience along the way? How did you overcome those challenges and get to where you are today? For some, those challenges may have led to frustration, anger, or even a career change. In today’s healthcare environment it can be difficult to keep up with the changing regulations, provide high quality care to your patients, and maintain a positive attitude. For those of you who feel a little lost, I have a simple tip that may help.

Most of all, I want you to think about the journey you took to become the healthcare provider you are today. Where and why did it all begin? I’m not talking about the generic “I wanted to help people” answer. If you’re in healthcare, a desire to help people is assumed. Dig deep and remember the real reasons why you entered your field.

For many healthcare providers, the reason they selected a career in healthcare was a personal experience. Perhaps it was a negative experience and you entered your profession to prove you could do a better job. For others, like myself, the experience was positively life-changing and we couldn’t imagine living our lives any other way.

Now that you’re thinking about why you do what you do…write it down. That’s right. Put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, or whatever works for you. Furthermore, let your story out of your head. Hence, make sure you include the “who-what-where-when-why-and how,” as well as your feelings and emotions so your story’s complete.

Finally, once your story is written, don’t forget to read it and share it. Dr. Ron Boesch, an amazing mentor of mine, used to say “Own your story.” He understood that no matter who you are or what path you’re on there will be challenges. Knowing your story – the reason behind it all – can help you stay focused and passionate in troubled or confusing times.

How did you overcome challenges in your life or career? I invite you to share your story in the comments box below.

For more information on building community connections, I encourage you to read my new book Community Connections! Relationship Marketing for Healthcare Professionals. If you want more valuable information about how to Connect with YOUR Community, you can find FREE healthcare practice marketing content, PowerPoint Presentation Jumpstart Kits, workbooks, blog articles, and my FREE “Practice Marketing Planner” Now!

Healthcare Marketing Goals -Set Your Annual Goals!

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

“What?” You might be asking.

“It’s time to set my annual healthcare marketing goals already?”

Yes! I know the year isn’t over yet and you’re still making progress on this year’s goals. But having the next year’s goals in place by the beginning of October gives you time to cement those goals in your subconscious.

I don’t typically recommend a specific way to create your goals…different ways work best for different people. You could produce S.M.A.R.T. goals as discussed by Tony Robbins. You could build D.U.M.B. goals as discussed by Brendon Burchard. (Seriously, check this out!) The important thing is that you find a goal-setting method that works for you and stick with it. I have a few tips to help you along the way:

Written. Your healthcare marketing goals must be in writing and kept in a convenient location you can refer to every day. To hold yourself accountable, purchase my $10 Workbook here-> Companion Workbook – a place to plan out your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual goals.

Concise. Be as specific as possible about what you want to achieve in the coming year.

Measurable. Your goals must be measurable in order for you to know when you’ve achieved them. You shouldn’t have to guess when a goal is accomplished. You should know with certainty…and celebrate!

Manageable. Don’t develop so many goals that it becomes overwhelming… If you have that many goals they are probably action steps, not goals.

Grounded. Your goals should be based on your values and purpose, and aligned with your mission, and vision. If a goal isn’t congruent with this foundation, rework it or ditch it altogether.

Regardless of the process you use to flesh out your goals, it can be helpful to break them out into major categories. (If you decide to have lots of subcategories, only list 1-2 goals for each one. Keep in mind you only want 10-15 goals for the entire year!) The ones I use are:

Professional – Includes any goals focused on your career. You may further break this down into categories such as financial, practice numbers, marketing, education, etc.

Personal – Non-work-related goals fall into this category, which can be further sub-divided if necessary. (i.e.: Mental, physical, emotional, creative, etc.)

Financial – Any goals you have regarding money, savings, investments, etc.

Adventure – Goals for fun and recreational activities are a must! Otherwise you run the risk of only focusing on work and getting burned out.

Connections – Who do you want to meet, work with, interview, mentor, etc. in the upcoming year?

Have you set your written healthcare marketing goals for this year? What works for you? Please share your thoughts and tips in the comments section to help others who may be struggling.

Healthcare Practice Marketing for Introverts

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Healthcare Practice Marketing for Introverts. Many healthcare professionals are introverts, and that can make healthcare practice marketing and self-promotion challenging. But don’t despair! Here are some tips to help even the most introverted healthcare professional to market their private practice effectively.

First, change your perspective on your activities. Instead of getting overwhelmed at the thought of “marketing,” “networking,” or “promotion,” change your terminology. Are you more comfortable with “connecting,” “helping,” or “sharing?” It sounds silly, but words are powerful.

Second, take a close look at your effective healthcare practice marketing activities. With which ones do you stay relaxed? Which ones cause anxiety or stress? In general, focus more effort on those activities which allow you to stay calm and relaxed. If there’s a marketing activity which yields tremendous results but causes significant anxiety, look for ways to achieve the same results with less stress. For example, perhaps a health talk produces great results but you’re a nervous wreck for a week. Can you take a class on public speaking and become more comfortable? Or perhaps change the format to a panel discussion so you’re not the center of attention.

Third, consider adding marketing techniques and activities you haven’t tried before. Some ideas that may appeal to your introverted nature are: Writing practice-specific brochures for your target demographic, volunteering your time or services for a worthy cause, sponsoring a popular speaker on a topic important to your community, blogging, or joining a community service organization.

Fourth, remember that no matter what word we use, or what activity we employ, all relationships are built one person at a time. The same is true for healthcare marketing and building your private practice – it happens one person at a time. Those face-to-face interactions are oh so important.

Finally, don’t expect every event or activity to generate huge results. While some healthcare practices may develop signature events with extreme return on investment, that’s not the norm. Face-to-face interactions…day after day, month after month, year after year…add up. Take a long term view and realize that consistent effort over time will help you build the private practice – and life – of your dreams!

Are you an introvert in the healthcare field? What marketing ideas and activities have worked for you? Please share your experiences in the comments box below!

Membership Medicine

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Practicing as an in-network provider can be the path of least resistance in terms of new patient acquisition. But if you want your dream practice, a membership medicine practice is worth the effort.

In-Network

It’s understandable that some practitioners choose to be in-network with insurance companies when they first open their practices. A new doctor hasn’t yet established a patient base, and when you’re in-network, you don’t have to work as hard to bring new patients indoor doors. The insurance company sends people to you by listing you as an in-network provider. open-966315_1280

All you have to do is hang out your shingle, and the patients (and insurance checks) start rolling in. It seems too good to be true and eventually, you start to understand why it is.

Less Money, More Hassle

There’s a lot of overhead involved when you’re an in-network provider. You have to hire someone to do your billing and to chase down missing payments. And let’s not forget the copious paperwork; sending corrected claims, sending requested progress notes, and filling out paperwork for pre-authorization. Doing all of this costs time and money. If you run a busy practice, the details can start to fall through the cracks. By the time you figure out why the insurance companies aren’t paying up, you’re drowning in overdue business-19156_1280 paperwork.

When the checks finally do start coming in, you might wonder if there are some missing zeros somewhere. There aren’t. As we’re all aware, insurance companies reimburse for “customary and reasonable” expenses. But that number is reasonable to them, not necessarily to you.

In addition, almost every doctor I’ve ever spoken with is fed up with insurance company “paper-pushers” interfering with the clinical care of their patients. Often, the insurance company employees responsible for approving or denying claims have little to no clinical training. To keep it in perspective, let’s not forget that most insurance businesses are publicly traded companies trying to make a profit. While you’re trying to look after your patients, they’re trying to look after their bottom line.

Membership Medicine

If the above paragraph sounds too familiar, there’s a solution; membership medicine. This practice structure cuts out much of the insurance company hassles and puts care decisions back into the hands of practitioners and their patients. You charge a fee; it can be yearly, monthly, quarterly, whatever works best for you and your patients, and that fee covers a variety of treatments, services, and procedures. Patients are encouraged to keep a catastrophic policy with a high deductible, but most of their routine care is covered by the membership fee.

There are many ways to structure a membership medicine practice, and they go by a few different names, but what they all have in common is eliminating the headache, expense, and interference from insurance companies. However, a membership medicine practice has its own challenges.

Education, Promotion, Connection

Dr Kelley Mulhern increasing costs Building a membership medicine practice takes work. Once you extricate yourself from the insurance companies, they’ll no longer send patients your way. And there are a lot of people who won’t even consider seeing an out-of-network practitioner. Who can blame them? Consumers pay an exorbitant amount of money for health insurance and they want to use it! People think medical care is expensive, and they’re right. When a third-party (insurance company) is involved, prices are artificially inflated to handle the costs associated with dealing with them.

When you eliminate insurance companies from the equation, it’s entirely possible to provide a high level of care. Often you can provide a higher level of care than you could when you were in-network. You aren’t under pressure to see more patients in less time in order to make a living. And the insurance companies no longer get a say in what’s best for your patients.

Some patients don’t understand this. All they hear is “out-of-network” and they simply find someone who’s in-network. It’s up to you to educate your patients on what membership medicine is; the benefits and the costs.

Transitioning from a traditional practice to a membership practice is less scary than starting day one as a membership practice because some of your existing patients will stay with you through the transition, particularly if you’ve properly educated them on the advantages.

But you’ll lose some patients and the insurance companies won’t be sending you new ones, so you have to promote your practice yourself. Start by setting some marketing goals. Understand who your patients are and how your practice can give them solutions to problems. For example, a common patient complaint is the lack of time a practitioner spends with them. In a membership medicine practice, patients get the time and attention they want and need, neutralizing this issue. stop-watch-1135771_640

If you go out-of-network, you’ll have to connect with your community in a way you didn’t before. Put yourself out there, go to health fairs, give workshops and lectures at schools, churches, and community centers. These are the places where you can introduce yourself and your type of practice to potential patients.

Is It Worth It?

This may sound like a lot of work compared to letting insurance companies send patients to you. So is it worth it? That depends. If you like freedom and flexibility, a membership medicine practice is absolutely worth it. Under this model, you can make more money in less time, eliminate interference in clinical decision-making, and eliminate a lot of paperwork and overhead.

If that sounds better than what you’re dealing with now, perhaps you should explore membership medicine further.

Small Hinges Swing Big Doors

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

A hinge is a small piece of metal that uses leverage and physics to move something much bigger than itself…a door. No, this blog isn’t about home or office repairs. This blog is about the huge impact minor changes can make in your practice.

Here’s a specific example: Years ago I worked in a high-end wellness-oriented chiropractic practice. Our ideal patients were those who were healthy and wanted to be healthier. We couldn’t understand why, given the office environment and energy, patients often returned to the pain conversation. Then we removed one phrase from our vocabulary. That phrase was “How’re you feeling today?”

The focus of our care was on restoring proper function to the body…not on chasing symptoms. However, by asking that one question, it reinforced for people that how their bodies felt was more important than how they functioned. (This directly contradicted one of the office’s main messages!) Of course, if someone had a serious issue or needed to talk about their discomfort we would…we just chose not to start the conversation that way.

Instead, we substituted the question “How’s your day today?” As a result, that one simple change helped remove patients from the headspace of “being sick” or somehow broken to that of a person working on restoring proper function and health. It took them from the role of the victim and propelled them into their rightful place as a partner in their own health.

While this story shows the positive power a small change can have, remember that it can go the other way too. Seemingly minor changes can lead to disaster. For example, conversion issue with one small number resulted in levy walls that weren’t deep enough. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 the levees couldn’t hold and caused more damage than the hurricane itself.

What little changes have you made that yielded huge results in your practice? Or, what changes could you make? Please share your stories and comments at Dr-Kelley.com as we build our community of successful healthcare professionals!

Thanks, Gratitude, and Appreciation…and Healthcare Marketing

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

With Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season fast-approaching, I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss thanks, gratitude, and appreciation as they apply to your healthcare marketing strategy. (If these are not currently part of your marketing strategy, make sure to keep reading!)

“Thank you” is a verbal expression of gratitude or appreciation. It’s one of the most powerful phrases in the English language when used with intention. Most of us were taught from an early age to say “please” and “thank you.” For some, it has become a habit…the words slipping out seemingly of their own accord. Unfortunately, this rote delivery may render the words virtually meaningless. When was the last time you actually stopped, reflected, and gave sincere thanks for the opportunities, experiences, and people you have in your life? When was the last time you noticed and commented on the “little things” others do for you? When was the last time you genuinely thanked your patients?

Dictionary.com defines “gratitude” as: “the quality or feeling of being thankful.” Thus, it’s largely an internal state of being. Living in the proverbial “attitude of gratitude” can raise your spirits and the spirits of those around you. It fills you up emotionally, and that can impact your actions, behaviors, and responses. Check out this video by gratitude-guru, Marie Forleo. Be grateful for each marketing opportunity – and allow that feeling to show – to truly connect with your community.

Finally, Dictionary.com defines “appreciation” in multiple ways, one of which is: “the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value.” Therefore, appreciation is a more dynamic concept whose focus is to take action on the internal state of gratitude. Show authenitic appreciation for your patients, for those who coordinate or assist with marketing events, for your employees, and for your family. Dr. Paul White states: “Each person has their own preferred ‘language of appreciation.’ And within each language, there are specific actions that are most valued by that individual…But the key is to be able to use the right action with the right person, at the right time, and with a genuine spirit of appreciation.” For more information on this topic, consider reading The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White.

Not sure how to incorporate thanks, gratitude, and appreciation into your healthcare marketing strategy? Here are a few tips:

Remember to say genuine “thank you’s” when appropriate.
Block 10-15 minutes out of your daily schedule…use this time to write a few thank you notes or emails to patients, employees, friends, family, vendors, and community leaders. It will leave behind a positive impression and show others how much you care. Struggling with time management? Download my FREE 2018 Practice Marketing Planner and take control of your schedule.

If your handwriting is terrible, or you’re looking for a way to help streamline your appreciation, consider a company like com. Choose your membership category and let the fun begin. Simply select the desired card, campaign, gift card, or gift – personalize it – pay for it – and it gets sent out in the mail.
Some more great options for delivering gifts of appreciation include: Gift Tree (for hundreds of options for every budget), Edible Arrangements (for beautiful fruit bouquets), and simpletruths.com (for motivational and inspirational gifts).
After any marketing activity or event, ask yourself who helped make it possible. Then show your appreciation in a way that’s meaningful to them. (This should be included in your marketing budget and schedule!)

I hope you’ve enjoyed our “conversation” and have gotten some useful insights. To wrap things up, I’d like to extend a sincere Thank You to you for sharing your valuable time with me today. I’m humbled, honored, and grateful to be on this path of service to other healthcare professionals. I’m deeply indebted to my mentors, teachers, professional organizations, friends, family, colleagues, and patients for guiding me along this fantastic journey. I appreciate each and every one of you in a million different ways!

How about you? What are some of your favorite ways to express thanks, gratitude, and appreciation? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section!

The Mystery of the Disappearing Healthcare Patient

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Think back to that disappearing healthcare patient who’s been tickling the back of your brain. You know the one – we all have them. The patient who you thought was doing well…getting better…seemed happy…and then one day, just disappeared from your private healthcare practice. Perhaps they were a relatively new patient, or maybe they’d been part of your practice for years. Why did they leave? Did they move away? Were you so successful in your treatment they didn’t need you anymore? Maybe they got laid off and now can’t afford your services.

There are dozens of reasons why a patient may leave your healthcare practice that have nothing to do with you or the quality of your services. But what if they’re not happy with you? Prior to an unsatisfied patient leaving your practice, they may stick around for a while…waiting to see if the issue corrects on its own. When you have a patient who doesn’t complain, do you assume they’re completely happy with the care and services you’ve provided? How do you know for sure?

When a patient disappears from your healthcare practice, how do you respond? Do you just continue on your merry way or do you reach out and try to determine why they left your practice? Obviously you don’t want to pester people…or spend all of your time following up on previous patients. But having a simple and efficient process in place to find out why patients have left your healthcare practice can be invaluable.

Finally, recent research reveals that for every complaint expressed by a customer, there can be up to 25 additional unregistered complaints¹. In terms of your independent healthcare practice, this means that for every patient who tells you they’re unsatisfied with your care or services, there are up to 25 more who say nothing. That’s right…they just walk out your door and never come back. And while they may say nothing to your face, what are they saying about you to their friends, relatives, and acquaintances?

Do you have a process in place to touch base with patients who’ve disappeared from your practice? If so, share it with us in the comments section. Together we can help each other solve the mystery of the disappearing patient!

¹Wysocki, AF, Kepner, KW, Glasser, MW. Customer Complaints and Types of Customers. University of Florida IFAS Extension. 2012; http://edis.ifas.efl.edu/hr005. Accessed September 2, 2014.

The BEST Healthcare Practice Building Advice I Can Give

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Meet Dr. Kelley

I’m going to break a cardinal rule of online content marketing today. What rule is that, you ask? I’m going to share – in my very first blog – the single best piece of small business marketing advice I could give to a healthcare professional. I’m not going to make you pay for it. I’m not even going to make you wait for it. Are you ready? Here it is: The absolute best piece of relationship marketing advice I can give to a healthcare professional looking to grow their practice is to connect with your community. Sound simple enough? Let me explain. Best Practice Blue

Chances are, if you’ve found your way to my website, you’re a healthcare professional who’s looking to build their practice. Perhaps you’re about to graduate or are new in practice. Maybe you’ve been in practice for years but continue to struggle. Or, perhaps you’ve had a successful practice but you’re getting bored with your same old marketing events. No matter which category describes you, connecting with your community can help to ramp up and reinvigorate your practice. But what does connecting with your community mean?

The best way to build a successful private healthcare practice is to become involved in the local community, build genuine relationships, and leverage those relationships to the benefit of all involved. In other words, connect with your community, and allow those community connections to help you build the practice and life of your dreams.

Community building is a key component of success. The health and well-being of your community should be in the forefront every day, which means that you need to connect with them on all levels: physically (through office hours), emotionally (by caring for their needs) and intellectually as they are not just patients but friends too. Connecting with those who support my healthcare practice has been one invaluable resource I’ve used to grow my business!

Dr. Kelley 5k Community Event

When I was new in practice, I had lots of time on my hands. I decided to give back to my community by hosting free health workshops for the local Fire Department. I donated thousands of hours to participate in ride-alongs, to create and deliver the workshops, and to create and sponsor 5 K runs to benefit specific Fire Fighters. The 9 workshops became part of a “curriculum” which all First Responders had to go through and covered physical health, nutrition, and stress management. I created a lasting relationship with this Fire Department focused on their needs. But guess what? Over time, as they got to know and trust me, when they required the services of a chiropractor, many of them turned to me.

Dr. Kelley Pendleton Connecting with her Community

Dr. Kelley Mulhern Connecting with her Community

Connecting with your community doesn’t need to take a lot of time, nor does it need to cost you a lot of money. Find a cause or a population you’re passionate about and figure out a way you can make a meaningful difference for them. Remember – it’s not about you…it’s about your community. But if you take care of them, they’ll take care of you! How can you connect with your community?

Maintain or Regain Your Healthcare Practice?

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Maintain or Regain?

Maintain or Regain Your Healthcare Practice?

I had an interesting conversation with my husband Michael, last week. We were talking about how for most people…if they change nothing about their nutrition, exercise, and emotional health habits…today is the healthiest they’ll ever be. For the majority of people who don’t eat well…don’t exercise…and let stress run their lives…they lose health incrementally each day. Thus making today their healthiest day…pretty sobering thought, isn’t it?

In my own healthcare practice, I see patients struggling to regain their health…to get back to a point where they used to be. Therefore, this wasn’t the interesting part of the conversation for me. No…the interesting part of the conversation was when I realized the same truth can be seen in other areas of life. If a person changes nothing about his poor spending or saving habits, today may be the wealthiest he’ll ever be. If a business owner changes nothing about her inconsistent healthcare marketing habits, today may be the most successful she’ll ever be. Yikes!

This discussion reminded me of something I used to tell my patients. It’s far easier to maintain your health (with regular exercise, proper nutrition, and stress management) than it is to regain your health once you’ve lost it. The same is true for money…reputation…fluency in a foreign language…trust…hard drive backups…physical upkeep of a house or business…etc.

Take an honest look at yourself and your healthcare practice. Consider making a list of the things you continuously excel at as well as a list of those skills, abilities, or intangibles you’ve let slide. Why do you excel at the things on the first list – natural aptitude, practice, or force of will? How can you apply those same abilities to the second list? What steps can you take to maintain your business success? In what areas do you need to regain your skills?

If you haven’t already developed your 2017 personal and professional goals, there’s still time! And if you head over to my website, you can sign up for my FREE healthcare marketing tip of the month newsletter and receive a FREE goals workbook to download. As an added bonus, you’ll receive the first two chapters of my e-book, Community Connections! Relationship Marketing for Healthcare Professionals.

Please share your comments, suggestions, and stories at dr-kelley.com and help me create a larger community of successful healthcare professionals!

For more information on building community connections, I encourage you to read my book Community Connections! Relationship Marketing for Healthcare Professionals. If you want more valuable information about how to Connect with YOUR Community, you can find FREE healthcare practice marketing content, PowerPoint Presentation Jumpstart Kits, workbooks, blog articles, and my FREE “Practice Marketing Planner” Now!

You’re Being Watched!

by Dr. Kelley Mulhern Leave a Comment

Before we go off on a conspiracy tangent, let me clarify! While we certainly could have an interesting and compelling discussion about surveillance technology, drones, and Internet monitoring, that’s not the point of this blog. Instead, I wanted to remind you that our actions speak much louder than our words, and people are watching. (If you’re a parent, you probably have a few stories from your child-rearing days where this was embarrassingly obvious.)

How does this apply to a healthcare practice? It’s simple. Every action or inaction on your part is observed and judged by someone. Just as children watch their parent’s actions and learn…patients also watch YOUR actions and learn! Perhaps it’s the server at the local restaurant who notices the cardiologist ordered the fried fish platter. Maybe it’s the cashier at your grocery store who sees the processed junk food in your cart and remembers when you came in to talk to his class about nutrition. Could be the gym owner who realizes you never come in to work out anymore… Or maybe it’s the patient you’ve lectured about living a healthy lifestyle who sees the soft drink or fast food on your desk.

While leadership and making community connections can help provide a solid foundation and growth for your practice, it comes at a price. And that price is that when you’re part of a community…the community is watching. Although people won’t call the exercise or nutrition police on you, they DO take notice when your actions aren’t congruent. The good news is that the community also notices when you sponsor a 5K run, participate in the local PTA, or host an awareness event for a health issue plaguing your community.

Your community is trusting you with their health. Make sure you’re worthy. Lead by example. Strive to make your actions congruent with the messages you send out. No one’s perfect, but we all have areas where we can improve. Do you have an experience to share where someone called you out because your actions didn’t match your words? (Or maybe you called someone else out!) How did you turn it around?

Please share your comments, suggestions, and stories at dr-kelley.com and help me create a larger community of successful healthcare professionals!

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