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A: Our yearly gross income had leveled out and was starting to slowly drop. Our practice is in a middle to lower middle class area and we thought we had topped it out. We were looking at buying another practice in a different part of town. We had so many headaches managing this one small practice that we felt we needed help if we were going to manage two. We signed up with Hollander, received our initial management training and the purchase of the second practice fell through. So we began applying what we had learned to our present practice and it started to boom. We doubled. We turned from a very small practice into a very large practice over the course of two years.
Q: Why did you chose Hollander over other consultants?
A: We liked the way the Hollander people came across. We'd met with a few other consultants and did not like the way we were treated. The people from Hollander seemed like caring people. It seemed as though they were interested in making our practice grow and in making our lives more livable by making work easier. I also knew a veterinarian in town who had done the Hollander program. Her practice was smaller than mine when she started their program. Then hers boomed just like mine did. We got a recommendation from her in addition to relying on our own perceptions about Hollander.
Q: What do you consider has been your biggest success on the Hollander program?
A: There have been so many it's difficult to talk about only one. As I mentioned, we doubled our gross income within a 2 year period. We also changed our lifestyle from one of having excess money in the summer and starving to death in the winter to having an excess year around. That's a big success. The headaches associated with management have been greatly reduced. When we do have problems, we know how to handle them. We have office policy which has helped tremendously. If a situation arises and we don't have a policy that covers it, we write one. We never took this kind of action before - we've learned how to handle problems.
Q: How did your staff react to you hiring a consulting firm?
A: Our staff became interested in the growth of the practice. They can watch the statistics and they see how we are doing. When we've had ups and downs they are aware of it and they respond to the changes we make. They feel more a part of the team. The staff has been helped by the implementation of office policies, job descriptions and statistics. They've welcomed the changes and have definitely contributed to the growth we've experienced. I also want to add that from time to time we've had relief staff come in and work for us. We've had people come in to cover technician and reception positions. They've previously worked in other practices and they have marveled at our organization - how organized our staff is and how organized the entire practice is. It's a really nice compliment, especially since I never considered myself an organized person. People definitely notice a difference.
Q: What other results have you gotten that you attribute to your association with Hollander?
A: Our practice has become much easier to run. Before I started with Hollander I was here working in the office until 8:00 or 9:00 every night to finish what I had to do. Now we are producing more than double the business and I leave when the office closes at 5:30. Hollander helped us put in policies and procedures that we strictly adhered to and it made all the difference in the world. For instance, we had a situation with collections that was causing us big problems. We were allowing people to charge and then we weren't collecting the entire fee. We put in new policies and ensured our staff was effectively trained to collect. It made a difference to have a consultant advising us, supporting the changes and staying on top of the situation. Now we're in control of areas we weren't controlling before.
Q: How long did it take you to see results?
A: It was almost immediate. Right after our initial practice evaluation and management courses our gross started skyrocketing. These initial services were done in May of our first year with Hollander and by December of that same year we had increased the gross by 85%.
Q: Have the results been stable?
A: Yes, as long as we stayed on the program. We were off the program for a period of time and our gross leveled out in the higher range. When we started back up again we began growing and have continued to do so. We're now in the process of opening a second practice. We should be opening in about 3 weeks. I wouldn't be able to expand like this if my practice was not stable.
Q: What kind of actions did you have to take to produce the results?
A: Generally speaking we were not controlling our practice. As I mentioned, Hollander helped us get in control by implementing statistical management, office policies and procedures. We began a reactivation program which produced great results. We began doing some effective promotion and I believe we started practicing better medicine because we were taught how to present comprehensive treatment plans. Instead of trying to determine whether a person could afford the best, we learned to offer the best. All the actions we took that have produced results are actions that gave us more control over what was happening on a day to day basis. Whether it was a personnel issue, a financial issue or a delivery issue - we were taught how to handle it well.
Q: How has your quality of life changed since your practice is running better?
A: I've got more time with my children which is very, very important to me. I have more time at home. We have an active horse farm and it's given me more time to work with my horses and more money to spend on them. My 9 year old son is very active in sports and has taken an interest in showing horses. I am able to spend time with him and be involved in his activities. It's just made for a better life.
Q: How has Hollander executive training helped you?
A: Again, it's put me in control. It's taught me to act like an executive. I don't do everybody's job because I know I can do it better. I demand that each staff member do his or her own job because I learned that an executive delegates. When I was working long hours I was trying to be the doctor during business hours and at night I'd do all the other jobs. It wasn't because I had a bad staff, it was because I was not being an executive and a leader. Hollander taught me how to get people to get things done. Since people want to contribute and feel bad when they're not allowed to, the staff is much happier now that I let them do their own jobs. They've received training too and have become more and more competent and more responsible as well. I've also learned to plan for the present and for the future. That's an executive function which I was not doing before. It's another example of how I've been able to control the practice instead of letting it control me.
Q: Has Hollander helped you overcome the obstacles of increased competition?
A: I don't worry about competition anymore. We offer a valuable, good service and people are willing to pay for a high quality service that's of value to them. I used to be concerned about low cost vaccination clinics and such and I'm just not concerned about them anymore. We do what it takes to do a good job, we sell that to our clients and they appreciate it.
Q: How does the Hollander program get implemented into a practice?
A: Step-by-step programs are used. Our consultant has never suggested that we change everything immediately. It is very planned, very strategic. Anyone who is in business has been doing things that are successful. Any successful action remains in place while the problem areas are getting fixed. We stay in constant communication with our consultant. Our Office Manager has received training at Hollander and she is responsible for coordinating implementation. Hollander ensures you use the management tools they provide and are there to help at all times. If problems arise, the consultant is just a phone call away and because Hollander has so much experience, I'm convinced that there is no problem that they can't solve.
Q: Have the changes improved the quality of your care and service?
A: Most definitely. We're much better organized than we were before. Better organization improves the quality of service. Better organization also allows us to deliver a higher quality of care because we're not stressed out and thinking of problems and upsets when we're treating patients. Clients frequently compliment us. They let me know how much they appreciate the staff, the service and the care they receive from us.
Q: Do you feel the Hollander program can work for anyone?
A: I do. If you want to make changes or want to make improvements in your practice and your life, I think anybody can take it and run with it. I don't consider myself anybody special. I don't have any special abilities or qualities that made it work for me. It was a matter of wanting it and wanting to make it work. Hollander just made it simple to do.
Q: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to those who have practices that are not doing as well as they could be?
A: I would tell them to call Hollander. Initially we were concerned about the cost of the program. I have to laugh at that now. In 3 months it had paid for itself. We increased our practice enough that you could say the fee was reimbursed to us. When we wanted to continue using their services, it was a no-brainer. We didn't even think about their fee, we just did it. We know that when we invest in a Hollander service the return on our investment will be greater than we could receive anywhere else.
Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
A: I think it's the smartest thing we ever did. Hiring Hollander Consultants made a major difference. I hate to think of where I'd be today if we hadn't found them. I've continued my relationship with them over the years because as a practice expands, new situations are created. I now work with my consultant on entirely different matters than I did when I first signed up. It's nice to have access to his objective advice, knowledge and experience when I need it. Hollander has been in business a long time and they've probably dealt with every kind of problem a practice could have. Being associated with them can help doctors avoid making costly mistakes. It has been a pleasure working with them.