Chiropractic Software Return on Investment

“ROI?” Carmen repeated. “Return on Investment is simple. How much are you investing, and what kind of return are you getting?”

“I never had a practice management class. I’m not sure that’s even a thing. And do you think you could help me with this without the condescension?”

Carmen gave her husband a hug. “I don’t mean to be condescending. It’s just that this is a pretty basic concept. It’s hard for me to believe that you’ve never thought about it in your practice.”

“Maybe it’s not as simple in a medical practice as it is in a pizza parlor,” suggested Ben.

“Now who’s being condescending?” Carmen settled a pillow behind her back.

“I don’t mean it that way,” protested Ben. “Listen, you know how much every pizza is going to bring in, right? They have prices. And the cost is predictable, too. You know how much the ingredients cost and you could probably figure out exactly how much a pizza costs and how much money it brings in. It’s not like that for us. We don’t know exactly how much each appointment will bring in or exactly what costs will be associated with a treatment plan, and we’re really not used to thinking in those terms.”

“Well, let’s simplify it. You know your expenses, right? Some of those things you pay for are cost centers and some are profit centers. So you pay for electricity because you have to. You don’t get any higher revenue by buying more electricity. But you sell supplements and books at a profit, so buying more of those brings in more revenue, as long as you sell them all.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Ben said excitedly. “What about all the things that are somewhere in between? Practice management software, for example. We’ve made some investment there already, but I’m getting push-back from my partners. They see it as a cost that’s avoidable. And their whole concept of ROI is about reducing costs wherever we can.”

Carmen shook her head. “That’s crazy. Return on investment is about measuring the return you get on your investment and making more investments on that basis, not on trying to stop making investments that pay off.”

“And now we’re back full circle! I don’t think we really understand ROI.”

“I’m beginning to believe you,” Carmen agreed. “What are you going to do about that?”

Ben sighed. What was he going to do about that?

Can Dr. Ben’s practice get a handle on using ROI for business decisions?