TJ Ahn: 0:36

Hi, I'm Dr TJ Ahn and today I want to talk to you about a crucial aspect of running a successful medical practice increasing your cash flow while regaining your time from a heavy volume-based model. Before we get to it, let's look at some facts to see what's really going on in healthcare in the United States. Medicare physician payments have been consistently cut in recent years, with a 3.37% across the board cut taking effect in January 2024. Now guess what? The Center for Medicare, which is CMS, has proposed another further 2.9% cut to physician pay for 2025. Cut to physician pay for 2025.

TJ Ahn: 1:25

Continuous pay cuts for physicians have significant long-term effects on morale, leading to several detrimental outcomes. Number one increased burnout and career dissatisfaction. So many doctors feel that their pay does not adequately reflect the admin burdens and the complexity of their work, leading to frustration and resentment. Number two unfair compensation can push physicians to consider early retirement or leaving the medical profession altogether. This trend exacerbates the existing physician shortage and places additional strain on the healthcare system.

TJ Ahn: 2:00

3. Impact on patient care. Physicians experiencing low morale due to inadequate compensation may deliver sub-par care, which can ultimately harm patient outcomes. The stress of financial instability can lead to reduced focus and energy for patient care. This leads doctors to seek for alternative ways to sustain their practices as well as providing the best treatment options for their patients, not to mention to spend more quality time with each patient. You ask me, tj, is there a solution? Yes, there is. This is almost the only solution at this time. Answer is you need to start adding cash pay services or non-covered services that are beneficial to patients' outcomes, or you need to opt out of some bad insurance plans, which reimbursement doesn't make sense at all, in order to sustain the practice. However, here's the big problem. Many doctors struggle with selling cash-based services, and I understand it can be a challenging shift, but if you're looking to transform your practice into a more profitable, patient-focused operation, it's a shift worth making. So today, I will share with you three key reasons why doctors have trouble selling cash pay services and how you can overcome these obstacles. By the way, if you find this content valuable, don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more insights on building a successful medical practice. So let's dive in.

TJ Ahn: 3:36

Reason number one feeling sorry for patients. As healthcare providers, our instinct is to care for our patients, sometimes to our own detriment. We often feel guilty about charging for services, especially when patients express financial concerns. But here's the truth when you offer high quality care, you're providing immense value. Your skills, knowledge and expertise are worth it. By offering cash-based services, you can often provide more personalized and higher quality care than insurance-based model allow. It's about shifting your mindset from feeling guilty to feeling confident in the value you provide. Let me share a story from one of my clients, dr Helene. When she first joined my practice Growth with Hybrid Concierge Model Coaching Program several years ago, she definitely struggled with the idea of charging patients directly. She felt guilty and was afraid it would push them away. But after working on her mindset and seeing the positive impact her specialized services had on patient outcomes, she realized her patients valued her expertise and they were willing to pay for it. Today she runs a thriving hybrid concierge model where both she and her patients are happier.

Helene Nguten: 5:01

Yeah, I've been following TGS for a while and it's straight three years and it definitely is a transform, not just transform my practice, but also transform my mindset. And this event this weekend is actually my company, because it's not a bunch of us get together bouncing off ideas, but it's really strategies and workshop and, you know know, have us exercise and that's actually be able to bring out more of the deeper issues that we have to deal with. Everything except how we try to avoid. Uh, because we speak, are so easy with our offense and, you know, personal, like whatever, but right now, with the weight one way out and many of their children have very good focus.

TJ Ahn: 5:46

Reason number two bad money mindset. Many doctors have a complicated relationship with money. This is actually true for everybody. We're taught to focus on patient care, not on the financial aspects of our practice. But having a healthy money mindset is essential for successful practice. This means recognizing that it's okay to be compensated well for the valuable services you provide. Money is not a dirty word. It's a tool that allows you to improve your practice, invest in better equipment and ultimately, provide better care for patients. Work on developing a positive relationship with money and understand that it's a vital part of running a successful practice. So let me give you another example, dr Alex. He's in my mastermind program and had a similar struggle. He always put his patients first, often at the expense of his own financial stability. After working with him just for a few months, he transformed his approach to money. By valuing his time and expertise, he not only increased his revenue, but also had more resources to invest back into his practice, enhancing the care he could provide. So his story here is a testimony to how a positive money mindset can transform your practice.

TJ Ahn: 7:15

Reason number three not knowing how to ethically sell. Selling doesn't have to be, again, a dirty kind of concept. In fact, when done ethically, it's about educating and empowering your patients to make the best decisions for their health. Ethical selling means clearly explaining the benefits of your services, providing all the information they need and allowing them to make informed decisions. So it's about building trust and demonstrating the value of what you offer. So when you approach selling from this perspective, it becomes a natural and integral part of patient care. Take Dr Ibrahim, for example. He was uncomfortable with the idea of selling to his patients. Through our program, he learned how to communicate the benefits of his services in a way that was transparent and patient-centered.

Ibrahim Akkari: 8:16

It makes you a new level of provider. You're talking differently, you are seeing things differently, you're approaching the patient differently. It makes you such a better provider. You know it's not only that you're closing deals and you're selling more, it's not even that. It's the level of provider you become, even to patient's eyes, is completely different. And then you'll talk to other podiatrists and you'll realize you're in a different. You're a different animal. You're a different game. They're not at your level. You know they go in the office, do their thing, go home and they don't think that there's more into it. They don't realize how much they miss out by not following TJ's teachings.

Ibrahim Akkari: 9:00

I would highly recommend TJ to any podiatrist. Either you are fresh out of residency, you've been in practice for 40 years, even if you think you're doing good, you know we all have something to learn and what I love about TJ is that himself. I know him. He is also investing in himself in other courses, so he's basically going out there getting high-level knowledge in sales and closing in podiatry businesses and he's bringing that to us, putting it on a spoon with a salt, a little pepper and feeding you. Very easy to learn from him. Highly recommend it and actually it's going to change your life. The moment you start selling and following his teaching, you're going to realize how much you're missing out on before.

TJ Ahn: 9:53

He built trust and saw a significant increase in a cash-based services. His patients appreciated the honesty and clarity leading to better health outcomes and more profitable practice. So there you have it, the three main reasons doctors struggle with selling cash pay services. Number one feeling sorry for patients. Number two, having a bad money mindset. And number three not knowing how to ethically sell. By addressing these issues, you can create more profitable practice that provides exceptional care without you burning out. If you're ready to transform your practice and start seeing the benefits of adding cash pay services, stay tuned. We'll be diving deeper into each of these topics in the future videos and providing actionable strategies to help you succeed. Make sure to subscribe to my channel for more tips and strategies on building a successful practice and if you have any questions or want to share your own experience, please leave a comment below. Also, check out the description below for additional resources and ways to connect with me. Thank you for listening and I look forward to helping you create a thriving, patient-centered practice.