Panama City Chiropractic

The Challenge
Dr. Jon Sherman established a family practice six years ago, following graduation from Life University, Marietta, Georgia. He later opened a second office, dividing his time between the two and seeing 135-160 patients per week, with seasonal fluctuations.

Outwardly very successful, Dr. Sherman still felt that he was not achieving his goals and sought direction from several coaches, none of whom proved satisfactory.

The Background
Client: Panama City Chiropractic, a two-office practice on the Florida gulf coast.
Location: Panama City, Panama City Beach
Situation: Successful practice with stalled growth

Dr. Sherman is the only doctor in the practice, which also employs two full-time and one part-time chiropractic assistants and four contract massage therapists. The practice was busy, but the business side, the doctor felt, was not performing to expectations.

Home-grown processes were impeding growth through inefficient patient flow and processes, which he attributed to lack of formal business training. Even so, the practice was generating more than $450,000 annually in revenue, but it seemed to be stalled at that level.

He attended a seminar conducted by the ACOM Healthcare Business Consulting Group and was convinced he had found the right track.

The Solution
The ACOM Healthcare Business Consulting Group focuses on the business side of chiropractic offices, concentrating on accuracy in the areas of case management, billing, coding and documentation.

In a two-day visit, an ACOM consultant conducted in-depth conferences with Dr. Sherman and the office staff, reviewing processes, studying the organization and flow of office operations, and reviewing paperwork and forms used. With the information derived he was able to model a typical day, identify problem situations and recommend alternative procedures. After the two-day visit concluded, the consultant continued to provide ad hoc counseling.

Success
ACOM’s recommendations reduced patient waiting time, as well as the time office staff devoted to routine activities like scheduling, leaving more time for revenue-related activities. New efficiencies actually reduced time spent with individual patients, emphasizing the quality rather than the duration of the visits, enabling the doctor to see more patients per day and also encouraging commitments to extended periods of care.

Within weeks, patient retention rates had soared by nearly 50 percent and the clinic’s annual revenue rate was approaching $600,000.

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