The last time I went to see my doctor, I waited patiently in the waiting room for 40 minutes before I was called in by a nurse who took my blood pressure and weighed me. That nurse sent me to wait in a small, colder room for 15 minutes before a different nurse came in and told me to go to the doctor’s “office.” I talked to my doctor for maybe 3 minutes before I went to use the bathroom, came back to her office and she was gone. I waited another 10 minutes in her office before someone found me in there and went to tell her. Then my doctor and I somehow found each other again somewhere in the hallway. She gave me an exam that lasted 2 minutes, and we then all parted ways.
Our medicine is nothing like this, and we should be as vocal as we can about it (not vocal that Western Medicine and the wait times are horrible, but about how our medicine is intimate, thorough, and patients rarely have to wait)!
I’m often surprised at the number of people that comment on how nice it is that they didn’t have to wait in the reception area for more than 5 minutes. It’s so normal to us, we forget it is so not normal in many other fields of medicine.
I once read somewhere that people will pay for something only if they believe the value of the item is about 10x what they paid for it.
So until insurance covers acupuncture all over the world, it’s important for us to vocalize exactly how we give value in our treatments and our overall treatment process (so our potential patients know, because they often don’t)!
Value goes way beyond money. Our treatments are not just valuable because of acupuncture in itself, but the relationships we form with our patients, the level of care that goes into each session, the way we always make sure comfort and healing are our top priorities, and on and on.
Vocalize and write on your webpage what you do to add incredible value to each and every treatment.
Like, if you have…
- A heated treatment table and a warm, cozy treatment room for maximum comfort.
- A small doorbell should the patient need you for any reason at all.
- Soothing, relaxing music.
- Flannel sheets.
- A private room.
- A low level of outside noise.
- Gentle insertion of the needles so it is always a comfortable experience.
…. write about it! We forget needles and acupuncture in general to someone that has never had it is a little freaky. If it’s all written down, they know exactly what they are getting into before even calling you, and it will feel like an already familiar experience when they walk in the door.
Continuous value that goes beyond the treatment table include follow-ups the day after their first treatment and always being easily reachable by phone or email (within reasonable business hours, of course)!
May the value you add to your community continue to flourish!
Laura