Importance of Infrastructure

When it comes to fundamentals, Chiropractic practice is no different than any other business entity.  The foundation of how things run and how staff are trained is important to long term success.  I talk to doctors daily and there are always those that seem to be stuck in a rut, then their practice numbers decrease and they end up back to where they started a year ago.  This cycle of rain then drought creates a lot of stress on the doctor and staff.  The problem is, these offices are not updating their infrastructure to handle more patients and all the stuff that goes with them.  Updating infrastructure by the way does not mean spending more money, creating more space or hiring more people.   What it means is constantly assessing how things can be done more efficiently and how we can use technology to produce better results.  

Have you ever started referring patients to a MD (or any other health professional) and in the beginning patients can be seen that week or the next, reports come back timely and patients overall have a nice experience.  Then word gets out that it is taking 6 weeks to see the MD, the patients had to wait for 3 hours to be seen and you never see a report?  The next thing that happens is referrals start slowing to that MD and the practice starts failing.  Why would that happen?  The answer is simple.  The infrastructure that they started with was adequate to a certain level of patient visits.  Then the paperwork started to back up (the MD didn't re-assess his systems to make them more efficient) and then things started getting overlooked.  The MD then blames everyone else citing that they need to work harder because "he/she cant do it all" and then it implodes. 

When you are in a growth phase (which you should ALWAYS be in by the way) monthly or quarterly review of where the "snags" are in your system is critical.  If you are having concerns about yours systems, call me and I will help you.  I can be reached at 716-228-3847.