Hear In Private Practice

This series of articles on pricing strategies has analyzed the historical perspective on the development of retail prices, discussed finding your own “magic formula,” and looked at the individual considerations that should be a part of that formula (e.g., warranty, invoice cost, accessories, cost-of-living adjustments).  Two weeks ago, I began the topic of using manufacturer loyalty programs ethically, specifically for

Some of the patients you serve may have recurrent otitis externa for which no medication seems to help.  In this situation, the real culprit may be eczema in the external ear canal.  The medical term is chronic eczematous external otitis.  Sometimes the only symptom will be itching or pain in the ear canal, with no flaking or visible inflammation. It is

Just to review, in part 1 of this series I reviewed my own personal history in the development of sound retail pricing strategies that would best serve my practice and my patients. In part 2, I discussed finding the right “magic formula” and the various formulas I had seen other practices use, including the possible pitfalls of each of them.

 I’d like to take an interlude this week from my series on pricing concepts to share a concept that, while not unique, is something that those in private practice should seriously consider:  the work sabbatical. I started taking work sabbaticals several years ago.  At AAA in Salt Lake City (2004) I met a guy named Greg who quickly became a

A friend shared this link with me since we converse occasionally about motivating ourselves and those we work with.  We are in vastly different areas of the work force. He is a manager with Microsoft and I am in Private Practice Audiology.  The message he brought to me rings true across careers when it comes to having a positive attitude

Before we get started, I want to note that in the course of writing this post I kept stumbling across ideas for future posts (those “a-ha!” moments).  For the fun of it, I’ll throw in a few number signs (#) indicating those moments, and if you’re interesting in my pursuit of them, please send me an email or post a

In private practice we get price shoppers on the phone and it is up to our front desk to turn the phone call into an appointment.  Though it rarely happens, it can be a challenge for my staff because I have never given a free hearing exam.  In my earlier posts I went over some pros and cons of being

In part 1, I discussed my recollections as to how our industry has developed its retail pricing strategies, and how we responded to changes within the industry itself. Progress requires change, and we needed to make changes that would enable us to keep our retail prices  competitive and still be able to pay our bills.  The rapid rise of wholesale

The decision to become a participating provider is not as easy as you think.  We have seen managed care change dramatically over the past 20 years.  Even though hearing health care and hearing aids were often value-added discount items rather than covered benefits, it helped having the office or audiologist/dispenser’s name in the providers directory for referrals alone.  In Arizona,

I’ve always been a bit of a salesman, as well as a computer geek. For me, they went hand-in-hand, one benefiting the other. I purchased my first computer at age 9 by selling stationery door-to-door, raising enough money to purchase a Commodore VIC 20. The 20 stood for 20k of memory, if you can imagine that. I did fantastically with