For many chiropractors, patient engagement tends to diminish over the long term. Learning how to motivate patients through education and inspiration can ensure that you maintain a high PVA (patient visit average) and keep your business growth sustainable.

In order to figure out your PVA you just take the number of patient visits that you have in a given month or year and divide that number by the number of new patients during that period. You want the number that you end up with to be 24 or higher. If your PVA is below 24, one of the first methods I suggest for boosting your engagement is to focus on education.

A simple way to improve education is by choosing key topics that you want to talk about during each visit. Templates are a great way to organize your thoughts and give yourself direction while still sounding natural. Another way I’ve learned how to motivate patients is by holding health classes or workshops. These allow you to go deep into the benefits of chiropractic therapy and improve people’s understanding of the science behind the treatment they receive.

The third and most important method is to really put a lot of energy into the reexamination process. People feel it when you don’t put intention into your reexaminations. Tell your patients the benefits of what they’re doing and show them the changes that have been caused by the treatment. A good reexamination should spark engagement and get people excited about treatments.

To sum up, if you want sustainable business growth, you need to focus on retaining patients. If you want to know how to motivate patients, just think education, motivation, and inspiration.