Tuesday February 24, 2009

Tuesday, my second favorite day of the workweek. Try to guess my favorite day??

Normal day at the office, busy in the am, slower after lunch.

11 patients today. seems slow, but as the practice grows, and it is growing, I will look back and wish I had the free time. But I like slow, controlled growth. It avoids overextending myself and avoids mistakes.

2 new patients were seen today. One was the wife of a recent new wellness patient. She was not sure if she wanted to sign up for the retainer, but she set up a followup before she left. I think she respected the fact that I had plenty of time to spend with her at her initial appointment, about 45 minutes.

The other new patient is the daughter of a wellness plan member. She came in with her mother, who I have not seen since 2007. I had sent out mailers to some of my previous patients to inform them of the change in the wellness plans to zero copay about 1 month ago. The mailers must have worked, as the mother signed up for my family retainer at $100/month. It is for a family of 5, but last year I saw the father 3 times, the mother 0, and her kids are rarely sick. The pricing point will work both for me and for the family.

One other patient came in today who I have not seen in over a year. He came in specifically because he resents the insurance system and does not trust doctors that participate. He wanted a true independent medical opinion. Although my opinion was no different than the ER docs opinion he saw 4 days prior, he was still appreciative of the time.

Today my system has worked as I hoped.

Win for the patient and Win for my office!!

DoctorSH