New Years Goals Dr. Margolies 770-491-3639(v) Page 1 From: Dr. Margolies I wish everyone a Healthy and Prosperous New Year. To create this status .. resolutions (goals) must be written .. discussed .. maintained. Since these e-mails go to a variety of chiropractors .. spanning ages .. material wealth .. professional experience .. spiritual/social and ethnic backgrounds .. counties .. and countries .. you must take stock of yourself and visualize where you¼ve been and where you now and later wish to be. Personal wealth is not only weighed in money. The ability to smile and have inner peace is wealth. Looking in the eyes of your family .. if you are blessed to have one .. is wealth. Having your health is wealth .. and you can add your own list from here. Scanning the regions where this e-mail will travel is an exercise in variety. Some regions have insurance that is wide open .. a fee deserved for a service provided. Other regions have been pounded by managed care where you become a servant rather than a server. Many care less and offer a cash only or mix and match fee policy with the emphasis on patient education and decisions. So to write these e-mails for everyone is difficult but a common thread is obvious for all .. provide a health supporting service .. maintain your professional ethics .. demand the ultimate in staff assistance .. never lose sight that what we have is due to serving our patient¼s and community. This should be within your resolution and goals. Start with a staff meeting .. discuss where you¼ve been this past year. Review the successful wins and losses .. in patient education ..public relations .. community service .. patient compliance .. financial rewards .. staff management .. office statistics .. etc. This meeting should be an open session between professionals ..treat your staff as one .. not as a non-entity as some doctor¼s do. Divide on paper the topics above and determine what was and what can be. Delegate responsibility for each staff person and determine what help is necessary to make this happen. Plan which areas need reinforcement and improvement (including staff) and provide the tools necessary from educational to material support. Plan to attend educational seminars yourself .. always improve your professional skills .. plan motivational and practice management seminars .. either in person .. on tape .. you need to maintain your level of professional and clinical competence. Also .. asking for help is a sign of maturity not weakness .. if you haven¼t found your answers yet .. ask here .. I¼ll try to find the answers for you. This is my purpose and goal. Speaking of which, I now need your help: I need to firm up my knowledge and ideas concerning associateships and independent contracts. If any of you have a contract or a story to share (positive and negative) please e-mail or snail mail me the contract or specific paperwork. As you are aware, I teach at Life University and the purpose of the class is to provide each student the business sense of starting and maintaining a successful practice from the start .. even with limited start up money. My opinion .. and it is noted in my lectures .. is each of us be independent and stand alone helping the multitudes. Fear .. no experience .. lack of start up funds force many students to either associate or be independent contractors in the office of others. Although this would not be my primary choice for them . it is not up to me .. BUT it is up to me to provide them with the best advice I know. I take this responsibility very seriously. My class is full of practical ideas .. but it is never enough. I appeal to everyone reading this to spend a few moments sharing your experience and giving back to your profession. I often hear .. „I wish I had a class like this when I went to school.¾ Well .. I can¼t teach everywhere but through these e- mails I¼m sharing from you to them and when someone e-mail¼s me from Alaska to Wyoming or Canada to New Zealand about an associate arrangement or other practice and marketing questions .. I¼d like to have my finger on the chiropractic pulse with a cross section of our professional world. So .. please consider helping out by e- mailing me what you feel works or doesn¼t. If you have contracts .. informational papers .. audio or video tapes .. or whatever .. please e-mail or send it to me at: Dr. Joel E. Margolies 4910 LaVista Road, Tucker, Georgia 30084-4403 or fax me at 770- 491-3799 .. my office number is 770-491-3639, if you have any questions. If you wish anything returned let me know and please include your e-mail address so I can thank you. Every extra bit of information will assist me to assist others. For the Best in 1998 Dr. M