Does your C.A. believe her or his contribution is vital to the success of your practice? Or, does your C.A. simply see the position as one that assists the doctor, but really doesn't leave an impact on the lives of others?

Chiropractic fights a constant battle against the medical and pharmaceutical industries, trying to lead people away from drugs and onto the principle that the body can heal itself. A C.A. who works toward your goals and shares in your purpose is a person who will not only make the office operate more smoothly, but a person who will, in fact, leave an impact on others' lives.

There are many procedures and systems your C.A. can do that will help your practice. C.A.s can reduce your work load, which gives you more time to see more patients. They can make the practice more friendly and a positive place for your patients to visit – be it with a smile, a warm greeting, acknowledging them, or saying something nice as they approach the front desk. But, how can your C.A. help you to boom your practice?

Your C.A. can work towards getting patients to pay on time so they don't owe a balance. Patients who owe the office money are more likely to drop out of care because when patients owe, they don't concentrate on their health. Instead, they worry about their balance, which makes them reluctant to return for care.

Many patients don't expect to pay at the time of their visit but often expect to be billed later. Your C.A. needs to explain to each patient right at the start that the office policy is to pay at the time services are rendered and even encourage patients to pay for their week of care on Mondays, so collections are 100% every Friday.

Your C.A.'s role is to explain to each patient the value of an adjustment and the importance of keeping each and every appointment. When a patient misses appointments, that patient will not get the expected results.

After the Report of Findings, your C.A. should explain that, "Adjustments work one on top of another, just like working out at a gym. If you miss one of those days, you don't get the same results. Results are not based on how many adjustments you get in a year. Results are based on how many adjustments you get per week."

This a concept that is critical to the commitment your patients have to keeping appointments. If your patients fail to grasp it, they will not understand how missing one appointment will impact their health and they will begin to miss more appointments, and eventually, drop out of care.

Your C.A. can prevent this by giving each patient an official make-up time, should they ever have to miss an appointment, so they know in advance exactly when they'll be making it up. For example, patient "Joe Smith" knows that if he misses an appointment, he has a standing make-up appointment on Thursdays at four p.m.

If you make an advance agreement with patients regarding the official time you set aside for them to come in to make up an appointment, it can save time and effort for the C.A.

If Joe misses an appointment, the C.A. can leave a message on his answering machine telling him that he's been scheduled for a make-up appointment to replace the one he missed, on Thursday, at four p.m. – which is the time you initially set up for him when he signed up for care.

This puts your C.A. in control of missed appointments because patients are educated about the importance of keeping adjustments. With this implemented, your C.A. will recapture at least 50% of the appointments that patients were missing by getting them to make up for the one they missed.

Many patients come in for adjustments and use this time to delve into conversations about diet, exercise or personal matters with the doctor. This throws off the schedule, distracts the doctor and forces other patients to wait. Your C.A. can eliminate this problem by observing "preferred hours."

Preferred hours are certain hours each day that have been set aside for the doctor specifically to adjust patients. During these hours (which are when most patients want to come in) no consultations, X-rays, exams or lengthy discussions are scheduled.

Your C.A. will explain to patients what preferred hours are, and politely ask them to refrain from getting into discussions with the doctor during these times so that he or she can concentrate on treating patients.

It is important for the C.A. to get patients to understand that it is not fair to keep the doctor beyond the allotted time for an adjustment and make other patients wait. When necessary, the C.A. can schedule a consultation for a patient to meet with the doctor.

C.A.s are a part of the healing process by contributing to the well-being and happiness of the patients who come in the office. Both you and your C.A. contribute by helping sick people get well. Your life, energy and vitality expand by helping other people and being a part of chiropractic enables you to do just that.