Plain Talk Practice Makes Communication Simple (as it should be)
What’s the most surefire way to build a thriving Asian medicine practice?
Improve patient results.
Because when treatment works, people trust it enough to come back for more.
(and what’s better–they tend to spread the word about it too)
What’s the quickest and most effective way to improve patient results?
Simple and straightforward communication.
Without the elaborate medical jargon you learned in school that makes you sound “professional”.
This may sound counterintuitive but…
As important as it is for you the practitioner to confirm the presence of liver qi stagnation or overactive yang, that same terminology is not at all helpful to your patient.
If anything, it keeps them disengaged (even excluded) from their treatment plan, and ultimately disconnected from their own healing.
Plain Talk Practice Encourages Patient Participation & Commitment
As any experienced practitioner knows, Asian medicine works given ample time and diligence.
But what often keeps it from working is a patient’s own resistance to following through with treatment.
The biggest reason a patient resists following through with treatment?
They don’t understand their treatment protocol and therefore don’t believe it will work, which keeps them from actively committing to it.
But when a patient can understand the whys and hows of their condition (and subsequent treatment plan) in plain language, they are much more likely to comply with it because it makes sense to them.
“The rich tradition and beauty of Asian biomedicine — is rooted in the practitioner-patient relationship. People want a provider they can talk to, feel heard by and most importantly, understand. Providers who are skilled at this keep the patient committed to a treatment strategy…”
–Rob Hoffman
Plain Talk Practice Improves Patient Outcomes
Imagine you’re speaking with the patient and want to discuss how your acu-therapy treatment can help treat their diabetes symptoms, particularly their sensation of pain and burning in the lower part of their body (numbness, and tingling in their toes and feet).
In traditional Eastern terms, you might approach treatment by acknowledging that liver qi stagnation can manifest as pain in your patient’s feet. This is a common imbalance in long term liver and kidney yin deficiency.
In plain English, you would explain that the pain in their feet is due to reduced blood oxygen content. To help alleviate their discomfort, it would help to strengthen their legs to help increase blood and energy circulation. You might then prescribe acupuncture and exercise to support strengthening and circulation.
If a patient is prescribed treatment in traditional Eastern terms, they’re likely to feel confused about the terminology and removed from their own healing process.
When prescribed treatment in Plain Talk terms, patients feel engaged, informed, and committed to their treatment, which increases the likelihood of their condition improving tenfold.
When your patients receive simple and straightforward answers to their questions and understand what is needed to restore healthy balance to their bodies, their compliance skyrockets–as does their trust in you, the practitioner.
If you want to build a thriving practice with patients who are eager to see you and come back, who trust your guidance without feeling alienated by your expertise, Plain Talk Practice will give you the languaging tools and techniques to get you there.
Because better conversations create better outcomes.
