Things are not always as they seem, by Dr. Ogi Ressel

Saturday, June 6th 2009

Warm hellos to everyone,

Well....last week's THOT certainly cleared the air - I had lots of doctors
tell me " I'm IN".
Awesome!
But what's even more amazing is that not one asked to be removed
from my mailing list.
Perhaps there's hope for Chiropractic in Ontario after all! What a concept!
I did receive lots of mail from other countries and jurisdictions asking
what we have planned.

All will be revealed in time - please be patient.

So let's talk about a topic which is often a problem for many - things
are not always as they seem.

See if you are not guilty of this:
Doctors (and CAs) sometimes present a schedule of care (or financial agreements)
to a patient that is not entirely based on the needs of the patient. Sometimes we,
as doctors, fall into the trap of somehow - through some magic wizardry, some
intuitive analysis, some inkling, some nebulous and ill defined notion - deciding
what the patient in front of us, will accept.

There is no rational reason for this. It is just done automatically using some
mystical sense - we all do it.
We look at the person in front of us, we survey his lands, we analyze his wallet,
we take stock of his belief system, we scrutinize his appearance and we decide
and deduce what this particular patient will agree to pay. ...And what care schedule
he will most likely agree with.
And we often design a schedule of care and payment based on our deductive
reasoning.
We are brilliant!

Let me share a story with you:
When I was still in practice, I was seeing a 2 year old little munchkin with
terrible chronic tonsillitis, Asthma, and bronchitis. Mom was single and
on welfare - very little money.
I placed this little girl on a schedule of initial daily care for 1-2 months.
It was very expensive for mom to do this. She would bring her piggy-bank
to the office and empty it out on the front counter - my staff had tears in their
eyes. Had she asked me for any financial assistance, I would have jumped
at the chance to offer any help I could. BUT....it was very important for her to
be able to handle this for her daughter on her own. And she did. And her
daughter did recover....And then mom started care herself.
Lesson learned. Don't assume.

I remember another incident vividly: When I was still a student, there
was a certain restaurant in Toronto which was incredibly elegant, incredibly
expensive, amazingly opulent, and touted as the best. Valet parking,
white gloves, 6 piece Armani suits, hot and cold running waiters - the works.
One evening, an old, beat up, rusty, and dirty VW beetle pulled up to the
front door and a fellow dressed in tattered blue jeans and sneakers got out
of the car and asked the valet to park it.
The young lad looked the driver up and down and refused. He told the man
to go packing.
The Maitre'D overheard the conversation and the valet was fired on the spot. 
Apparently the owner of the VW rust bucket was a local multi-millionaire
who often dined in the restaurant in very casual garb so as not to attract attention.
I've learned a lesson: don't underestimate.

We do this with patients. I have to tell you that it does not work.
What does work is being honest - being able to look a patient straight in the
eye and tell him/her precisely what they need. Not what they want, not what
you think they want, not what you think they will accept, not what you think
they think about what you think they think!
You got that?
Good!

Nothing beats honesty and telling the truth. You see, telling the truth is very
freeing - you never have to remember what you've said!

When you tell the truth, there is a certain ring to what you say. It reaches
down into the very recesses of the soul. And it doesn't need to be explained, it just is.

So the next time you are confronted with the opportunity of letting a patient know
hat your opinion is, do so. Tell them what they need. Period.
And don't look back.

Your patients will love you for it!

For those of you who would like to check that things are not always as they seem,
check this out:http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/cool/cool_illusion.html

Warmest wishes,
Dr. Ogi Ressel