Dr. Tea  0:01  

Practicing medicine without insurance is possible. Imagine a private practice where you get to see your best patients every day, providing medical services you truly enjoy, all without the hassle of insurance. My name is Dr. Tea Nguyen, and I'm a recovering specialist who was completely burned out from insurance based medicine. I pivoted into direct care, where patients pay me directly for my medical services, and have never looked back. If you're a private practice owner or planning to become one who's looking to be free of the grind of insurance and you're craving it, simplicity, efficiency and connection with patients, you are in the right place. This podcast will help you map out your exit plan and uncover the mindset needed to thrive in today's economy. Welcome to the Direct Care Podcast For Specialists.

Dr. Tea  0:53  

Oftentimes, doctors in direct care struggle with getting the right patients and they'll say something to me, like they're having a hard time getting traction. People are not interested. They're not signing up new members. In the case of you having a membership, or in the case that you're selling packages, especially as a specialist, I think this concept is a little bit more different. I'm not going to say it's hard, but it is different, because often, if we've never thought about selling to people, we never really learned how to position our services in a way that can attract people. It's the messaging, it's what we're saying to people to not just get their attention, but to engage them, to get them interested, and eventually trust us to buy. So there's a couple of parts in messaging, how you frame what you offer to people. The first thing to get clear right away is understanding that businesses exist to solve problems. Why did the business start in the first place? There must have been a problem for you to start your business right? It wasn't simply that you wanted to make money. All businesses exist to make money, but we need to get deeper. What problem are you solving? For people to exchange for you to solve in order for them to get better. So when we're talking about health care, why are people paying out of pocket for anything? It's because they came with a problem. They have a runny nose. Their problem is they're sick. And what do they want? What are they seeking? They're seeking a solution. And when does money get exchanged when they get that expertise. So we want to start thinking about how we give the offer, which is the way we position our message, so that people know we can solve their problem. They are coming to you because they have a problem that could not be solved. So in the case of direct care, oftentimes what I found is that people are coming to me because they have a foot problem, and the ones who come to me to pay me out of pocket are those who have foot problems but they couldn't solve it themselves, or the system that They've tried to use, ie their insurance was not able to solve it for them, or they were going to pay out of pocket anyway because they have a high deductible, or they don't have insurance or something, right? So that's how they end up. To me, I was needed. My services were needed because I found a problem that I could solve, and I created a business. I left employment because I saw there were things patients needed and deserved that wasn't being catered to, and that's why I opened my business. So my business is solving a problem, and so you would have to be able to identify the problem that you saw as to why you created your business, and we have to speak in patient terms. You can't say, I'm a direct care practice. My membership is really cheap, and please sign up. That's what a lot of doctors are doing, and that's not because of anything wrong. It's just we were never taught how to speak in a way that would engage a potential buyer. So here's how we can sharpen this up a little bit. You already have the smarts. You don't have to prove anything else to people. Now, all you have to do is refine the solution you have to offer to a problem that you want to solve. Let's take, for example, myself, because it seems to be the easiest. Somebody comes to me because they have an ingrown toenail, they can't solve it themselves, or they made it worse, trying to do bathroom surgery. Okay? They have a problem they cannot solve. So I already know by the time they get to me, they have tried other things. What were those other things? They would have tried Google, they would have tried an urgent care center, they would have tried an insurance option. And why did those things not work? Don't know, but I can predict or I can listen to the person who finally comes to my door, and I'll ask them what brought you in. How did you hear about us? I see that you have insurance. Did you try your insurance options? Right? So when you start engaging with people who end up in your office, you want to ask questions as to what made them decide to pay out of pocket for you, and then you're going to start getting some answers. Oftentimes, I hear things like urgent care center didn't do a great job, or they sent me here for a follow up, or I went, I tried to make an appointment with my insurance options, and they weren't available for six months, or I went to them and I just didn't like them, or they didn't tell me what else to do, right? So they're gonna give you a list of information that you can now use as part of your messaging. So if you don't get this right off the bat, that's okay. That's why I'm here. I'm trying to walk you through the process of you refining your message so that when you speak, you're capturing the attention of the person who has a problem you're trying to solve. Forgive me if you hear a bunch of noise in the background. I'm in a garage. I'm going to go Christmas shopping. Actually, I'm going to go shopping for myself. A lot of action out here. So getting back to your messaging, you have to position yourself to solve a painful problem. You're not just there to wait for gravity to draw people in right, you're not just passively open. You're actively looking for the right kind or person who is ready and willing to pay you. It comes down to what you're selling. What is your solution? Listen to any infomercial, anything that you've ever bought, they've positioned their message to get your attention, and you somehow made the transaction and said, Yeah, I'll buy it because they made some kind of a promise, they maybe said they sold you, like a pair of shoes or something that looked really comfortable, right, or it looked really cute, or just something right on time in the moment that you were maybe looking for it. So you want to position your solution to the problem of the person that you're really trying to help. What does this mean? This also means that you're not there to solve every single problem out there. Can you imagine how confusing that can be to the general consumer who is just learning about you? You go into one topic, and then you jump into another, and they jump into another. And this is to the person who has yet to know you. So every time you introduce a new service or a new message, if it's not clear to your overall image or your overall online brand, it's going to confuse them, and they're going to be wondering, what is it that you offer? And are you actually the expert, or are you just a dabbler of things? So it's really important that you get clear and start with one problem that you solve. Yes, you can do many things, and that's the art of messaging. Is that you'll get there eventually. You just want to invite that person into your office first by talking to them directly and saying, yes, that problem that you have, I can solve. Okay, I hope I didn't lose you here. If I did, let's slow it down. The reason why many doctors who start up in direct care are struggling to attract, retain and convert new patients to become their patient is because the messaging is unclear or it's broad or it's not even in the patient's language. People don't know what direct care is. We know what it is because we've been talking about this, at least on my podcast, I've been talking about this for over two years. It's become part of our vocabulary, but it's taken a long time for people doctors to even know how to do this and what it is right. So imagine the general consumer who is addicted to their insurance. They don't know that there's another way other than maybe the emergency room or urgent care center. Direct Care is not a word that is in the usual vocabulary of the everyday consumer. So we don't lead with the fact that we are alternatives or better than insurance. We're actually leading with the value we offer. So we want to tell people the value of the problem that we solve, that's what we want to lead with.

Dr. Tea  9:58  

So let's take it down. Little bit slower here I take care of people who have foot pain. Do I also take care of people who don't have foot pain, like neuropathy? Yes. But do I talk about both simultaneously? No, I become very clear about one message I want to push out there, which becomes my umbrella message. So simply, I help people who have foot pain get pain relief. Do you see how I went from problem to solution? People with foot pain are looking for me. I solve foot pain problems. Okay, so that's broadly speaking. Now we can dive deeper. Who do I want to attract? Okay, I want to talk to the person who is generally active, and they want to stay active. They're probably 55 plus, just speaking in generality, could be male, could be female. Now, if you're in a specialty who is more sex specific, I would encourage you to pick your sex so if you are a urologist and you want to take care of women, that is very specific, that is very good, the more specific you can go, the more clear your message will be that it's for them. It doesn't mean you're not going to see other types of people with the same problem, you can very well take care of men too. But at this point, at the beginning of your practice, you just want to start with one message and get very clear, because you want to start practicing your messaging on different platforms and on different ways to see if your message is attracting the right person, and if that's really what you want to do and who you want to take care of. So I would start being crystal clear with who you're trying to take care of and what you solve. The mistake I see is that doctors get very doctory. We we speak in doctors terms. We use medical terms. We don't explain things in the way that the consumer who doesn't have a medical background would understand it. So let's take it back. I help people who have foot pain get pain relief. Okay, so what is a non Doctor way to talk about my services? Well, let's start with the doctor way the doctor would say, I offer ortho biologics. Okay, what is that? Now I have to explain to to a stranger what that is, and when I'm putting on an ad or something, I might possibly lose their attention because I just used a big word that is not part of everyday vocabulary I know other doctors understand, but I'm not trying to attract other doctors unless I'm teaching about it right. If I'm talking to the consumer again, speak in the patient's voice. I help patients get pain relief without surgery, without narcotics, without painkillers. I don't know if they'll know narcotics, but you see how I break it down? What am I doing? What problem am I solving? In patient terms, we're not saying dumbing it down, because that's not what it is. We're just using language that we might use in everyday conversations. I help patients get pain relief without surgery. Do you see how clear that is versus I treat foot nickel conditions using ortho biologics, which one of those two sounds more of a dinner conversation? That's how clear and how simple we want to convey our message. Once you nail that message, people will start paying attention. They're going to say, Oh yes, that doctor does that one thing. She specializes in pain relief for the foot she does foot stuff. She's the foot doctor, and now you would insert your specialty. So I hope that that one example gives you ideas to think about as to how you can improve your messaging so that it targets the right kind of person. We call that the ICA, or ideal client avatar. It's the person you want to see over and over again in your practice. This is your dream patient. It's like your best friend who you get to show up for and try to help every single day. And if we don't get clear on who we serve, guess what happens? A whole bunch of different kinds of people come in. But it's not like your favorite thing to do. You kind of just do it because you can, right? It's not lighting you up. It's good enough. And we're not trying to aim for good enough in a direct care practice, we are creating a practice that we are falling in love with over and over again every time we show up. Insurance gave us good enough. Direct Care gives you more you. If you need more help in what I mean by messaging your offer, shoot me an email. I can set up a call. I love to talk about this, because when I was going through this training myself, it took me a long time to realize my message just didn't click because I kept leading with the wrong thing. I was leading with a price tag. I was saying, Well, I'm affordable. I'm a better option than insurance. Right? Those things are all wrong to stay as a direct care practice, but now I'm crystal clear, with a goal, as to why I exist, what my purpose is as a business who solves problems? Think of a plumber. Why do people reach out to a plumber? They had a problem, maybe with a faulty pipeline, or their toilet was clogged, right? And so their perfect message is having trouble with your toilet, called the plumber. That's how clear we have to get in direct care. Yes, you know a lot. Yes, you can do a lot. You can treat people who have pain, who don't have pain, who have a laceration, who need lab work, who wants to get healthy, who wants to stay healthy, who's chronically sick, and so on. You see where I'm going with that. Like, we do a lot of things, but that's for us to know. What we need to focus on is how we convey our solution to the person who has a problem that we want to solve, that we can solve, and that we do it very well. So again, if this is unclear, give it some time to marinate. Sometimes hearing it more than once will help it click. And if you need help, I'm happy to hop on a call with you. I'll work through your messaging for free. This is a free initial consultation with me, just so that you know how I work as a consultant or a coach with your practice. So if you're just thinking about starting your practice or you're wanting to pivot out of insurance, you really have to get clear on your offer, and I'm really excited to be able to help you with that. So down in the show notes, you've got some links, click on them, and let's connect. That's all I have for today. Take care, and I will catch you next time. 

Dr. Tea  17:20  

If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a review and share it with a friend so more doctors can learn about direct care. Let's keep the conversation going on LinkedIn so we can help more doctors escape insurance and thrive in private practice. Thanks for listening. I'll talk with you next time take care you.