Thinking all the way back to my time in dental school and carrying over to years of interactions with colleagues throughout my career, I am struck by how often I have heard a student or doctor compartmentalize our profession along these lines: “I just want to care for my patients and not worry about the business”. Taken a step further in both discussion and mindset, I’ve even seen business success on the one side cast as fundamentally opposed to exceptional patient care on the other, as in, “I can’t take proper care of my patients if I’m worried about money.”
Do The Right Thing
But here’s the rub; I’d argue the complete opposite! In my mind, the financial success of your practice is the lifeblood of exemplary patient care. This is a mentality, and it crosses all the lines between doctors, dentists, optometrists, etc., and here’s why: Financial success frees us up to “do the right thing”. Earning a great living in your profession is a worthy goal, not because it buys nice things, but rather because it buys a mindset that takes care of your family, your other family (staff), and most of all, the human beings on the other end of your treatment.
I won’t believe for a second that a doctor with the best treatment intentions, who nonetheless is wondering how he/she is going to make payroll next week, is not going to allow that factor to creep into their interactions with and care for their patients and staff. We are human beings, and thus we can’t adequately compartmentalize the two. That same doctor might well be spending more time researching cheaper cotton rolls than researching pathways to high quality care. Furthermore, our peace of mind and financial well-being is projected in thought and action to the treatment we provide. It translates directly to our ability to invest in technology, to invest in ourselves through continuing education (both of which improve the patient experience), to invest in our staff’s morale and well-being, and most of all, to invest in “doing the right thing” for our patients. This is the core tenet that allows us to view an individual patient with compassion; to identify instances where our professional services can be altruistically provided at little or no cost to someone in need, without concern that it will affect our own ability to “pay the bills”. It is truly liberating to be at the helm of a financially successful and sustainable practice, and for that reason it is perfectly aligned with, rather than in conflict with, best caring for our patients.
So here’s my mission: Parlay my own experiences, education, and real-life, wet-fingered practice to help other clinicians harness the tools they need to gain financial control and peace in their practices, through practical, actionable actions, and sound financial decisions in practice and life, with the upshots being a happier doctor and better served patients!