An Acupuncture Business Model
I hope I’ve made it clear in the past, but if I haven’t: I want YOU to succeed. I want you to have the confidence, knowledge and skillset it takes to run a successful business. That’s right: you own a business. You’re an entrepreneur, and being an entrepreneur means slowing chipping away at a few key things - one of them being how you schedule follow-up appointments with patients. Why is this so important? It has to do with expectations, healing outcomes, and business sustainability. Basically, it all comes down to proper communication.
I’ve worked in different clinical settings over my past 14 years in practice - solo, with only one other practitioner, and in multi-disciplinary clinics. I’ve had the chance to hear so many different people communicate to their patients, and a very common post-treatment conversation sounds just like this:
Patient: I feel great! I’m so relaxed and even my back is starting to feel better already! Should I book another appointment with you for next week?
Practitioner: Um… Just wait to see how you feel and come back if you think you need another one. Oh, and don’t forget to drink lots of water!
Have you ever heard another practitioner talk like this? Maybe you’ve said something like this as well. As I mentioned previously, there are three very important reasons why we need to communicate properly post-treatment.
Expectations
I don’t know what my patient’s expectations are - I never do - likely because they don’t know what they are either! For most of my patients, they’ve never experienced acupuncture from a Traditional East Asian Medicine practitioner and have no idea what to expect. This means that I have to communicate effectively the minute they email, text, or pick up the phone. I use the initial interview to teach them about what I do - and about the medicine. They might be coming in for knee pain, but I will still ask them about other health systems. This starts them thinking that I can be a catalyst for change in other areas of their life.
While I am opening the needle packets, I’m letting them know what I expect when it comes to acupuncture sensations, how my needles are pre-sterilized and only used once per patient, and how I keep my skin and their skin clean during the procedure. As I’m needling them, I’m talking to them about how the medicine works and what I’m up to. I also use this time to tell them that most patients respond to initially coming once a week for about 3-5 weeks, and that once they start feeling better they can start backing off to once every two weeks. Some patients have acute conditions that will resolve completely. Others have chronic conditions that may need a follow-up every 4-6 weeks. This plants the seed, which eventually clears the waters that used to be their muddy expectations.
Healing Outcomes
Once a patient’s treatment has come to an end, and they are about to go through the billing process, I hand them a sheet of paper. It says exactly the same thing I said in the room - expanding on what they can expect post-treatment such as:
patients usually start feeling better after 1-3 treatments
patients usually heal by either having a few good days, and then results start to fade, or patients report feeling 20% better, then 40% better, etc.
patients likely start feeling some results in 24-48 hours post-treatment
Explaining healing outcomes helps patients feel prepared for what the they are about to experience - and helps them communicate effectively with us.
Now comes the time of rebooking. If I’m doing the rebooking, I continue to repeat myself - saying that I would like to see them for once a week for 3-5 weeks. You can always change this language. You can see your patients twice a week for two weeks if you want - I just recommend that you’re consistent in your approach and you explain it to the patient well. In a disciplinary clinic, I always wait for my patient to emerge from the treatment room (I don’t hide away in the lunchroom to have my patient meander to the front desk themselves), and ask them how they’re feeling. I also take the time to tell them when I’d like to see them again. They like this. They like having a plan and enacting it.
Speaking of treatment plans, sometimes things don’t go to plan! Maybe a patient can’t see you for two weeks from their initial appointment because they are going on a holiday. That’s okay. Just communicate effectively that when they return to book two follow-up appointments to follow through with the plan. If a patient follows through, they will get what they seek, and you’ll get confirmation that what you’re doing is working which will feed back into self-confidence. It’s a serious win-win scenario.
Sustaining Your Business
We have to make a living wage for two very important reasons: 1. To put food on the table, so we can help more people, 2. To keep the lights on in the clinic, so we can help more people. Many of us get into this type of work because we truly, deeply want to help as many people as possible with this medicine. Likely, we had this medicine touch our lives in some way and we want to share it with the world. However, denying the fact that we need to make money does us, our business, and our patients a disservice. If we don’t make money, as I just illustrated, we can’t keep helping patients. Sustaining a business is also what this rebooking business model does. It works in three parts:
You ask new patients to come once a week for 3-5 weeks. Some patients will only come once and never come back, but many will come for your prescribed amount. This is your ‘new blood’ that come through the door due to referrals from other patients you’ve helped, and is the top level of your practice pyramid.
Patients who are starting to feel better are asked to come once every couple of weeks. Most will. Some won’t. This is your ‘recovering patient,’ and the middle level of your practice pyramid.
Patients who have improved 80-90% still have some chronic conditions left, and will need to space out their subsequent appointments. Other patients who have completely healed might like to come for maintenance. Regardless of the situation, stretching a patient’s third-party insurance while referring them to other practitioners (if available and applicable) is great practice. It shows restraint and confidence in one’s skills. You ask patients to come once every 4 or 6 weeks. You can even stretch this to however long you like! Even if the patient wants to take the summer off, always ask to book that follow-up in September. Don’t be pushy. Just ask. The goal is for this to become the base of your practice pyramid - to have lots of regular patients coming in for maintenance. I’ve nipped a lot of health concerns in the bud with patients who’ve been booked in for maintenance. This is a great way to provide continued care. Finally, this is what sustains your business and keeps the lights on.
Remember, you’ll always lose a few patients at every level for various reasons, but by sticking to your treatment schedule with good communication skills you’ll be successful in managing expectations, improving healing outcomes, and sustaining your business.
Try it. Master it. Make it your own.
