Clinical Solutions Blog

I really don’t like the word receptionist. I mean, the front desk team do more than just “reception” work. They answer phones, book patients, bill insurance companies, talk with insurers, laundry, take payment, schedule next week appointments, show and sell product to patient, fill charts, and the list goes on.

The front desk team are really customer service reps or patient care coordinators or clinic ambassadors/hosts.  

Given that more than “70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated,” Source: McKinsey, the front desk team are crucial to the patient experience.

You need to hire the right person. Someone with passion, trustworthy, loyal and great positive character. But for some reason this is more difficult than it seems.

Does the following sound like a familiar scenario?

You put a job posting on Craigslist or Indeed and you get over 100 applicants in your inbox. What next? Who do you choose? You barely have time to even look at over 100 emails, let alone work out how to choose the very best candidate. And in the past you’ve wasted tons of time interviewing potential candidates, who in the end, just don’t fit the bill.

If this is the case, chances are you don’t have a hiring process in place, which is why we’re going to cover this right here, right now, because there is a much more efficient way to go about this.

We’ll cover:

• Common problems and concerns with hiring
• Why first impressions are your number one priority
• The exact 6 steps to follow to hire the best front desk team

No matter what circumstances you’re in, increasing the value of your clinic should be one of your primary goals.

Take the following scenarios as examples:

Scenario 1: You’re looking to sell your clinic in the next 2-5 years. Therefore, you can use the following information to position your clinic as 'the place' to buy for potential prospects.

Scenario 2: You might not want to sell now but one day in the future it could be on the agenda. Think of your clinic like owning a house. If you upgrade your kitchen, your house will be worth more money when you decide to sell later. Same goes for your clinic. Therefore, you can use the following information as a checklist to make your business worth more each and every day.

Scenario 3: You will need an exit strategy and it might be one you did not expect. Many business owners never think about their exit strategy; then somewhere down the track they are forced to sell due to health issues, divorces, relocation because their spouses job is moving, something happens to the partnership and the partner wants to buy you out, and the most common thing - your business is losing money. Therefore, you can use the following information to safeguard your unforeseen early retirement and be ready to face the challenges - no matter what they are!

As you can see, one of these scenarios is bound to be before you at some stage in your professional lifetime. Therefore, increasing the value of your clinic should always be one of your primary goals.

But how exactly do you do that?

It’s certainly not rocket science. In fact, it’s much easier than you might think.

That’s why we’re going to cover:

• How to build a company that people want to buy
• Things you should be continuously focusing on to help you reach the final goal
• 12 great ways you can increase the value of your clinic

Ready to increase your clinic value?

Great. Let’s get started.

Something I (very) often hear people who work in healthcare businesses complain of, is the amount of time it takes to do everything, and that they just don’t seem to have the time needed to get everything done.

Sound familiar?

Trust me, I KNOW busy!

On the business side:

• I run CSC, an eCommerce business that is growing 70% annually
• I own 2 physiotherapy clinics in Alberta
• I help clinic owners with the Canadian Physiotherapy Association
• I have a consulting business where I help clinic owners with marketing
• I own a software business that helps businesses answer more calls

On the personal side:

• I just recently moved back to Victoria  
• We had a baby, well, Kylie, our baby girl is now 18 months old and still isn't sleeping through the night!

Like I said, I KNOW busy!

In this post, I’m going to show you:

• Exactly how I organize my day to get so much done
• How to focus business to the right places
• Effective time saving hacks to help you get more done in less time

Ready? Let’s go.

Recently, I was having a conversation with my clinic accelerator client about how he wants to expand his clinic and double his space. Part of his renovation plans are to build a product retail area into the clinic.

I asked him: “Why do you want to sell retail?”

He said: “I believe in the complete care model and my competitors - physiotherapist and chiropractors - are all offering products so I need to remain competitive.”

That’s smart business.

Patients are always going to purchase products they need. If you don’t offer them products they will buy poor quality, bad fitting products from the dollar shop or pharmacy. Or, they may even purchase them from competitors.

And let me share a little secret, your product sales should makeup 5% to 10% of your gross revenue. If you’re doing $300K of annual gross revenue, that’s $30K. If you’re doing $500K, that's $50K. If you’re doing $1M, that’s $100K. Regardless of your revenue, you can see that adding product boosts up your bottom line.

And, it’s not difficult to do, if you just know how to do it right.

So, in this post we’ll lay out:

• The wrong way to set up product displays
• How to display product like the professionals
• Tips for making a display look awesome
• Secrets to selling product at your clinic

Lots of examples included!  You ready? 

Working on the front desk at a healthcare clinic is very challenging, right?

Yes, to say you are busy is an understatement. And it doesn’t end there!

You’re also responsible for being the clinic ambassador, promoting all the clinic services and products. You’re equally responsible for the patients healthcare recovery. The emotional support you provide to patients is crucial, so you always have to be on top of your game. After all, patients coming into the clinic are in pain and they want to be around positive, friendly people.

And it doesn’t end there either!

On top of all of that, you still have to do billing and enter payment details into your clinic management software so you can balance at the end of the day and keep everything on track. 

The list of "to do’s" is always so long and often you struggle to get it all done. And, with all the demands, you can’t help feeling wiped off your feet at the end of each day.

How can you get all of this done by just working 8 hours per day? Is there an easier way to manage it all?

Yes, as a matter of fact there is.

In this post you’ll learn:

• Practical tips from Courtney who has mastered the front desk and has 18 clinicians working at her clinic
• Why it’s so important that you get more efficient front desk systems
• 5 easy tactics to help be better and faster at the front desk 

As a clinic owner, you no doubt recognize that competition is getting fierce. There are new clinics opening on every corner, and every clinic seems to be offering the same services.

Say for example a patient is suffering with back pain. They look around and the decision is difficult because everyone is claiming to fix their back pain, whether it’s a service or even a product. I mean, you even have Dr Ho claiming to fix back pain simply by selling tens machines and neck tractions on TV.

Patients do buy products. And, if they don't buy from you, they will buy from your competitor or from Dr Ho when they are watching late night TV. Along with the great services you provide, you recognize you need to offer COMPLETE CARE and provide product solutions to your patients.

But, how can you sell more therapy product at your clinic?

How can you get started the smart way so that you don’t have to fork out a ton of money on inventory?

How do you know which products to stock? And how do you plan a strategy that works for the entire team to upscale product sales?

Great questions. We’re going to answer all of them and more in this post, including:

• How product can majorly boost revenue
• How to make an extra 10% of revenue each month
• 6 simple, practical techniques to sell more product starting today
  
• How to sell product without holding inventory

Let's dig in!

As a clinician, your goal is to work in the type of health business that helps you grow as both an individual and a professional. You want the type of work that doesn't feel like work at all but makes you feel alive. 

Most of all, you want work to be a place that hosts a team that inspires you, with mutual respect and support to help you achieve those goals. Well, today's story may just lead you to your ideal destination!

This is the fourth interview in our ‘Clinic Owner Interview Series’ - a series where we’re learning insider tips straight from the experts themselves. It started with Gordon McMorland, sharing his tips and insights into growth, taking risks, and expansion. Then we had Kim Hall, giving us a sneak peak inside her business and how she’s managed to make it such a huge success in a short amount of time. Recently we featured Jeff Walsh, with insights on creating it ALL in business and life.

Now, in this fourth segment, Darin Cohen, from Expert Physio, is here to share how he manages to achieve amazing business and life goals every single day. Goals that most physios dream about!

Being in practice more than 10 years, Darin Cohen, along with business partners Lisa Price and Darby Honeyman, own 2 clinic locations with more than 12 team members. Like most clinic owners, Darin still spends majority of his hours treating patients.

In this interview, Darin will share:

• How this new grad became a clinic owner in 8 years
• Why he decided to have business partners
• Creating roles and responsibilites with business partners 
• Why the clinic switched to JaneApp
• Why he only works 30 hours clinical per week
• And the one thing that can change company culture and business outcomes

Ready? Let's take a look Inside the Life (and Business) of Darin Cohen...

You’d have to agree that life (and business) can get very busy, right?

And busy is often an understatement. At times, it can all be overwhelming.

But let me ask you a question. Do you wake up and do this: 

• Check your email and social media
• Prepare breakfast and drive your kids to school
• Rush off to go to work

How much time do you actually have to yourself in the morning?  

Chances are you could be running around in circles as soon as your feet hit the floor and beyond that the day just seems like a blur.

I totally understand. In fact, I used to start my day a dysfunctional mess, too. But over the past few years, I’ve completely altered my routine and it has empowered and changed my life significantly.  

Just like an athlete prepares and train themselves for the big Olympic event. What you do before the day starts sets you up to win (or lose). So how are you starting your day right now?

Today I want to share:

• A sneak peek inside the hustle and bustle of my life
• How to switch mindsets and alter your routine
• Keys to achieving increased productivity
• 8 (proven) morning rituals that have transformed my daily accomplishments

These tips have worked for me (and other entrepreneurs) and I hope they work for you!

I'm a big fan of learning. And if you own a clinic, it’s always a goal to become a better clinic owner and build a bigger, better business. And of course, we all do that through continued learning.

To me, when you keep learning you’re training your brain to play offence, not defence.

• Defence = resistance and reaction
• Offence = attack and score

Defence just isn’t a good business position. Whereas, playing offence keeps you sharp, giving you strategic advantage and helps you implement powerful systems and processes to continuously hit your goals.

When I coach clinic owners, I usually get them started on 5 books.

• How to think big
• How to get the right things done
• How to use system and process to scale your business
• How to do effective marketing
• How to build great teams
• And more

Solution: you can subscribe to audible. This is what I do and when I'm doing other stuff, I can listen to my audio books and continuously learn and be inspired - whether that’s during my runs along the beach, doing house/yard work or driving to a business meeting.

No excuses. Grab these 5 books and take your clinic to the next level.

Did one of your top physiotherapists, chiropractors or massage therapists just leave your clinic to work for a competitor? Or maybe one of your senior therapists has just given notice for retiring? Even worse, one of your therapists left and started a new clinic across the street.

As clinic owners, at some point we’re faced with the hiring challenge!

You may live in a busy city where there seems to be ample healthcare professionals around, yet you never seem to be able to recruit top talent healthcare professionals. They all seem to run off to your competitors, to the hospital, or to the bigger national multidisciplinary clinics because they offer more benefits.

After cofounding a network of 100+ physiotherapy clinics in Canada and now being the founder and CEO for Clinic Supplies Canada, I’ve learned a thing or two about hiring and maintaining staff. In fact, in 2015 huge competitors were trying to steal my staff - without success I might add. Why? Because we have amazing company culture that staff members want to be in. The point being, there are easier ways to recruit and maintain staff members, which is what I’d like to share today.

In this post I’ll cover:

• How building a bench of clinicians gives you power of choice in your marketplace.
• How getting involved with universities and colleges can be an easy lead to top talent.
• The most important thing to focus on when recruiting top talent.
• The importance of core values and company culture and how to create powerful incentives in your practice.
• How to target any obstacles that might prevent top talent working at your clinic.
• How to sell your vision of healthcare so the process all happens effortlessly.