What Do Your Chiropractic Assistants Focus On? By: kim@chiropracticassistants.com Do your CAıs concentrate on the patients who are non-compliant-- the ones with problems keeping their appointments, who continually run a balance, who are constantly complaining? Now, think about the eternal wisdom that whatever you focus on expands. If you notice that your office keeps attracting anything less than the most desirable patients who get well, stay, pay and refer, ask yourself what your CAıs focus on, spend time on, and direct energy toward. More than likely, theyıre focusing on the problems that arise, which merely attracts more problems. Over a decade ago when I started managing our office, I noticed that we had quite a few issues that needed work. Being an excellent trouble-shooter, I decided that I would meet with each CA on an individual basis to find out what the problems were so that I could help to solve them. Week after week, I asked the team to bring their problems to me, and week after week, I got more and more problems. It finally dawned on me because I was focusing on (and asking for) the problems, I was getting themŠand in droves! Our office immediately shifted to focusing on the positive (in other words, whatıs going right), and the positive results followed. Iım not suggesting that we stuck our head in the sand about our obstacles, but we did begin to focus on the solutions. We began to completely reframe any problems that we encountered in a way that actually empowered our team to help build the practice, rather than unconsciously sabotage it. There are so many examples of the power of focus in your office. Consider how many times youıve stopped to think about a patient you havenıt seen in months and they actually come in that same day. Alternatively, think about a time when your office collections were low; if you continued to focus on the unpaid bills, thatıs all you got more of--yuck! Let me give you a few more examples of the power of focus from our own office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When our own awesome CAıs focus on the A.C.E. topic each month, we almost always experience growth in our practice. Keep in mind, the information that I teach is typically not new to our CAısŠtheyıve been listening to it and role-playing it for years. However, when we focused on referrals, one team member had 14 outside referrals in two weeks! When we focused on appointment systems, our scheduled appointments and patient volume increased by 10% three weeks in a row! When we focused on appreciating our favorite patients, our new patients doubled! Again, thatıs without any changes in procedure at all.