Transition Mistake #2 – It’s All About You

Perhaps you’ve made the decision to transition your practice to a membership medicine model. As you begin to introduce the concept to patients do you find yourself complaining about the myriad difficulties practicing medicine due to the dysfunctional healthcare system?  Are you explaining those are the reasons you’re shifting to private medicine? While it’s usually a deciding factor – a big one in fact – communicating from your own perspective will be an ineffective way to connect with patients. To encourage them to follow you into your new practice, it’s necessary to shift to a more optimistic and patient-centered perspective.

Turn your attention instead to the positive reasons for making the change and the impact it will have on your patients. What are your values, your purpose, your vision? Your big WHY?  Maybe you’re reconnecting with your passion as a caring doctor and letting your true personality shine through. Or wanting to have the time to build relationships with patients so you can give them your very best care. Or to allow greater opportunities to focus on prevention and wellness. A concierge or direct care model is simply the tool to support your mission.

We worked with a family practitioner who, in attempting to provide the level of attention and care she felt her patients needed, experienced shrinking profits – and growing resentment. As a starting point she defined her transition to private medicine in purely monetary terms. There was no passion, no enthusiastic vision – everything was about the money. This new practice would clearly be off to a rocky start, but as soon as she began to make the critical shift to focus on the patient-centered aspects, her exciting vision started to come together.

When patients sense your passion and how it translates to them they will naturally be more supportive of your new way of practicing, and more likely to stay on with you. Your ability to inspire them will help make their decision to join your membership practice that much easier.

Take it another step further to connect even better with patients. Translate your WHY to their WIFM – “What’s In it For Me”?

Tell patients clearly what you stand for, what distinguishes your practice from others. Describe all the ways they might benefit from having you as their doctor in this new model. Don’t simply list your services. Ask yourself how each service will specifically benefit your patients. No office waiting time means you can get on with your day…fast communication with test results offers you peace of mind…24/7 communication may save you from going to the Emergency Department. Going through this process of turning the WHY into WIFM is also essential for creating your messaging and developing your brand.

Make this your starting point and you’ll be well on your way to patients understanding (and paying for) the value your practice offers. 

© 2014 Latady Physician Strategies. All rights reserved.

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Latady Physician Strategies helps physicians transition to Concierge, Direct Care and Hybrid practice models that help them treat their patients the way they want to be treated, while rediscovering their enjoyment in practicing medicine.

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