There is a misconception out there about injury patients.

In the 17 years that I practiced chiropractic, I never once spoke to a patient about the money that they were going to receive or how much money. I do remember one time a patient asking me how much money they thought this injury was worth in my experience. I told him I had no idea, and I didn’t, because injuries can be all over the place. My job is about recovery.  It is about being a doctor.

Every time I hear colleagues say, “Look, the patients are just interested in the money,” I always contest that. I may be naive. I may be a doctor that is just too optimistic.  Patients interested in the money was never my experience.

If that is your experience out there, if you are treating patients that are coming in and saying, “Well, doc, how much do you think I’m going to make?” I really would be questioning my marketing strategy.

That may alienate some colleagues right now, and that’s not what I want to do. What I want is for you to understand is that marketing is attracting who you want and repelling who you don’t want. Your marketing and how it represents you determines the type of patients you will attract.  I have talked about this in my podcasts and articles many, many times.  

In my own private practice, I would not want patients who are thinking about how much money are they going to make on their injuries because to me, that’s another intention.

I wanted the people that are injured that are completely 100% focused on finding the best doctor that they can possibly find because their sole interest at this point is just recovering, just getting better.

That’s the way the injury market should be.

Again, I’ve spoken with consultants before and I’ve heard other doctors in the field and it’s always, “Jeff, you’re so naive. You got to talk to doctors about the money. You got to talk about the money because all the patients want is money.” I maintain that is not true.

I think that when a doctor is talking to a patient about settlement money that they possibly can get from the insurance carrier, I think it is ludicrous. I don’t think that’s a good practice at all. I think what that does is it draws the type of patient who is looking at the money.

The best way to respond to patients like this is, “Look, I have no idea. That’s between you, the insurance company. That’s between you and an attorney. That’s between you and that process. My job here with you is to take your injuries and get them to a great recovery, and that’s what I’m interested in. Now, if you’re interested in that, you’re interested in fully getting committed to fully recover quickly, fast, effectively, if at all possible, then I’m in. If that’s not your intention, you may not be in the right center. You may not be working with the right doctor. I may not be the doctor for you”.

That’s how strongly I feel about that because what I wanted to have and what I want doctors that are Smart Injury Doctors to have, is a practice where they’re attracting people who are injured and are looking for the best doctors to actually work with so that they can get a full recovery.

Think about it, if you have someone that you love, a son, a daughter, a wife, a significant other, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a mom, a dad, a sister, a brother, somebody that you really care about and they get injured, say, in a car accident and now they have neck pain and they are getting migraine headaches.
Your first thought generally is not, oh my, gosh, they’re going to make so much money in an insurance settlement. This is so great for them.

Or, let me just send them over to this guy I’ve heard he’s really good at getting claim values up and he’s good at making sure that patients need long-term benefits.

That’s not the doctor you’re going to look for, for a loved one. If you wouldn’t look for that doctor for a loved one, don’t be that doctor.

Be that doctor that people would search out for. The doctor for a 19-year-old daughter who had major spinal ligament injuries to her neck. Now she is getting migraine headaches. Be the doctor sought after that really understands this so that she doesn’t suffer with these for the rest of their life. Because she is someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s girlfriend, someone’s mother. She deserves the best possible care

Now you’re going to tell me that they are interested in $1,500, $2,000, $10,000? How much would you pay? How much money would somebody have to you receive to have headaches for the rest of their life? How much would they need to receive to have migraine headaches for the rest of their life? How much for chronic pain for the rest of their life?

I don’t think there’s enough money in the settlement amounts that you’re dealing with.

Simply said, they are not in it for the money

If they are, it may be the wrong patients for you. Those to me are the patients that maybe are doing some questionable things or possibly are also restricting or retarding their care and their results.

I am old school. Maybe I’m optimistic, but I believe that there is a new market based on results. It’s a market based on searching for and finding SmartInjuryDoctors  The doctors that can get great results quickly, cost effectively, and can seriously reduce down long-term benefit need.

Whether it’s through work comp for an employer or  auto insurance carrier, or cash payers. These people are all interested in finding doctors that can get truly great results.

That is what I was interested in. It always grates me when I hear doctors talking about these injury patients are just interested in the money. That’s a real low look at human beings in my experience.

Now it can be true. Like I said, if it’s true in your practice right now and you want to change that, then you have to look at how you’re marketing and how you are being perceived.

Because if that’s how you are being perceived, if an injury patient is saying,  I just got into an auto accident and you know what? I can make some money on this. I heard there’s this really good doctor that helps you make money on these cases, so I’m going to go to that doctor. If that’s how that doctor is perceived, that’s what he’s going to attract.

That to me is not a very purpose-driven injury practice. That’s not why I got into being a doctor in the first place. I don’t think it’s why a lot of you became doctors either.

If you’re in a practice like that, it’s marketing that will get you out of it. I’ll tell you what.

It feels so good to have a practice that you are making a difference in peoples lives.

Like I said, in my 17 years, I had one guy ask me one time about the money.

Some doctors would say, oh my, God, that’s crazy, but I also know there’s some of you out there that are saying, you know what? That’s my practice too. If that is your practice and you are capable of getting great results.

I don’t think that the average injury patients first thought is, “Okay, I’m injured. I’m going to make some money here.” That’s not their first thought.

Their first thought is, “Hey, I’m injured. How do I get help? I don’t want this. I don’t want to have this for the rest of my life.” Again, doctors, think about if you have a loved one, where would you send them?

You’d need a great doctor.

You need a SmartInjuryDoctor. 

All I’m saying today is be that great doctor.

Be that great doctor that everybody would look for. Strive for that and you will really excel in the injury market.

For more information on Spinal Ligament Injuries please check us out at http://www.smartinjurydoctor.comor check out our SmartInjuryDoctors® Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play or Stitcher.

For information on spinal ligament testing by board certified medical radiologists go to www.thespinalkinetics.com