Here’s a bit of wisdom for you:

Patients love having things done to them.

They do. They absolutely love it. Why? Partly because many are accustomed to prescriptive health care, and partly because it’s easy. Who wants to do all that hard work of lifestyle change?

The reality, however is that things the patient does (patient-centered treatment) and things that the doctor does (practitioner-centered treatments) have different health outcomes. And in terms of your practice success, they definitely have different business outcomes.

Patient-Centered Treatments
Most professionals in this industry know that these are the ones that make the big difference over time. They’re lifestyle changes, mainly, and they’re done by the patient, not to them. Quitting smoking, exercising, eating better, dealing with life stresses and emotional issues – these are all patient-centered treatments. Naturopaths, nutritionists, and practitioners involved in the counseling side of alternative health often rely heavily on these approaches.

Even though this is where real long-term health success lies, there are two problems with these treatments: patients often don’t do them, and it’s harder to bill for them. Over time, patients become dissatisfied with paying solely for “advice” – they need a little more. Most people really don’t want to eat better and be more active. They want you to give them a magic bullet and charge them for it.

Fair enough. That’s where our other category comes in.

Practitioner-Centered Treatments
One of the strengths of the mainstream medical industry, in terms of acceptance, has been its willingness to treat as opposed to advise. Patients can bask in the relative ease of minimal responsibility, and place their care entirely in the hands of the physician.

In the complementary and alternative health industry, chiropractors, acupuncturists and massage therapists place particular emphasis on practitioner-centered treatments. Their modalities tend to involve doing things to patients. People love it, and the impact is often far more immediate than the patient-centered approaches, providing a “kick start” to the healing process.

The disadvantage with these treatments is that they often don’t work as effectively in the long term for chronic lifestyle-related conditions. But people don’t mind paying for them, and they’re often highly effective.

Happily, this is a case where the business and the health side of your practice can work in harmony. Creating a good mix of patient and practitioner-driven treatments will increase your revenue, and can help improve overall patient wellness. A chiropractor, for example, might add exercise protocols, while a naturopath might add various types of testing, supplements and new treatments like IV therapies and injections.

There are several good reasons to ensure your practice has a mix of these approaches:

Patient Success
The reality is that most people need a mix of these approaches to find their way to long-term wellness. If not for physiological reasons, than certainly for psychological ones. Mixing patient-centered and doctor-centered treatments creates a health partnership where both parties contribute to the process. It’s difficult to find long-term health without some contribution from the patient – their participation in the process is crucial.

Money
Simply adding doctor-centered therapies can increase your revenue dramatically without adding any new patients. In addition, these practitioner-centered treatments tend to be more easily transferred to other practitioners – they’re more process driven. So if you have plans to add associates, nurses, assistants, and other practice wealth boosters to your business, you’ll find the doctor-centered therapies far easier to standardize and “farm out”.

Referrals
Not only to patients love having things done to them, but they love to tell people all about it. Tell someone they’re overweight and need to exercise and they won’t tell a soul. Give them a placebo and they’ll shout from the rooftops. I’m not suggesting you give your clients placebos, but I am saying that people like to refer their friends to treatments over advice. Offering a good mix of treatment types can boost your referrals.

Take a look at your current style of practice. Are you heavily skewed towards one style of care? If so, consider mixing things up a bit – you’ll find both patient success and business success as a result.