For the last 50 or 60 years, the report of findings has been a key component to patient education and acquisition. Everyone knows that the ROF should include information about the patient’s condition, treatment, and financial responsibility…but what else makes for a successful report of findings?
We consulted a leading expert on chiropractic patient education and the psychology of the human decision-making process; he showed us that there is a great deal more to a successful report of findings than just data.
When you are building your report of findings, do you consider that there are three major strategies that all people use to make decisions and how these strategies are being used by your potential patients…even though they do not know they are doing it?
If these three strategies are not an integral part of your ROF, the likelihood of a patient opting for treatment is lessened considerably. Be honest, how many times do you deliver a report of findings verbally and hope a patient says yes? If they tell you that they need to think about it or discuss it with a spouse, are they supposed to remember what you told them so that they can present it well to a co-decision maker? Realistically, when they leave the clinic, they are likely to search the internet and find contrary opinions, and you may not see them again.
Here are the three strategies that we recommend you address with your report of findings:
- Convincer
- Buying
- Motivation
We will dig into each of these in a moment. But before we do, did you know that people process data differently, and if you do not include the correct way for each individual in your report of findings, you are less likely to hear “yes” from the patient?
According to an article in Inc Magazine:- 65% of people are visual – meaning they need to see things like videos, charts, graphs, and photos to feel comfortable enough to decide.
- 30% are auditory – they need to hear things like other people’s stories/testimonials, experts and trusted sources talking about the treatment, etc.
- A percentage of the population is auditory/digital and need to read things like reports, research, reviews, and testimonials when they make decisions.
- And then there are the people that “Do”. They need to touch and feel to get comfortable. This is why it is a good idea to have 3-D models in your consultation room. They need to feel the knee bend, for instance.
The problem with most report of findings is that the things that would best satisfy each of these are not included. How many times does a chiropractor orally explain the treatment and then send the patient home with a paper that lists treatments and prices?
Or maybe you use a PowerPoint to create your report of findings. Do you include the right information and media to address visual, auditory, auditory/digital, and doers?
How does the potential patient convince a co-decision maker that missed the consult?
Watch this video to get a good idea of how to best position your report of findings to connect with nearly any patient.
Let’s circle back to the three strategies. It is important to understand that people build these strategies over many years based on good and bad experiences. They use them without thinking about it. They have become an automatic subconscious mechanism, not a conscious decision. And this is why many cases, especially large cash cases, are lost. The Chiropractor or case manager does not know that the three strategies exist or how to present the ROF to align with the patient's use of these strategies. And, if you do not know how the person best processes information, how can you present the ROF properly.
The convincer strategy. This is the strategy that causes a person to either believe, or not believe something that they are experiencing. Have you ever told something to a person and had them look at you as if you were crazy? He or she did not believe what you were saying was true. Perhaps this person was more likely to believe a video than an oral statement, and this is why your report of findings needs to contain visual, auditory, and auditory digital components.
During this part of the decision-making process, the individual will decide whether they feel as if the treatment will solve their healthcare issue and if the treatment is worth the investment. People that have declined treatment in the past were not convinced of the efficacy or the value. Conversely, those that opted for treatment were convinced.
Keep in mind that in order to be convinced, the patient needed to experience the report of findings in a way that connected with his or her way of positively processing information. Is this patient a visual person, and you orally presented the ROF?
The buying strategy. Like the other strategies, this has been developed over the years. The buying strategy is based upon past purchases that went well and those that did not go so well. This strategy, like the others, has been developed to protect the individual from making mistakes and in this case, bad purchases. So sometimes, the “no” that you are hearing is really because of a past series of bad decisions. Perhaps the individual did not see enough research in the past or did not talk with others who made the same purchase prior to making a commitment. Regardless, understanding how to present the ROF to help the person reach a level of comfort with your treatment will help turn him or her into a patient.
The third strategy is motivation. Motivation moves people toward something of pleasure and away from something of pain. Or, in this case, toward treatment that will help or away from something that the patient thinks will not help or is not worth the money. When your report of findings and consultation is done well, the patient moves toward treatment and away from medications and surgery.
No motivation at all leads to you hearing, “I need to think about it”, or “I need to talk to…, or I don't have the money.”
If you build your report of findings to connect with the patients way of processing data and address all three strategies, you will likely not run into, I have to think about it, or I have to talk this over with my spouse, etc. A well designed report of findings can also help with patient retention.
This is why we created the ROF Assistant rapid report of findings builder. We built this program utilizing the data from the expert on the three strategies and the way people positively process data. Our reports contain written data, videos, charts, graphs, motion graphics, expert data, research studies, and more.
These reports are intended to help you close the case during the consultation. If you do not close the case during the consultation, you can easily email a link for the patient to view at home with perhaps a co-decision maker that missed the consult. The data in the reports is compelling and helps control the need for the patient to search the internet and find adverse opinions.
The program is very affordable and easy to use. No technical acumen is required to build a detailed, effective chiropractic report of findings.