Dr. Alex Tam, D.C. Shares His Success with Practice Management & Patient Compliance
Designs for Health (DFH) is proud to share our ongoing success stories that recognize and celebrate various health-care professionals in our community who exemplify contributions to the practice of health care.
This month, we had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Alex Tam, who holds a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and is a graduate of Life Chiropractic College West. Dr. Tam incorporates highly specialized techniques with compassion and mentorship to encourage better practice management and excellent patient compliance.
Dr. Tam’s Path on the Chiropractic Journey
Dr. Tam’s path on the chiropractic journey began when he attended the University of California in Davis. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Biology. After interning at a chiropractic clinic for 6 months, Dr. Tam fell in love with the drug-free and holistic approach that chiropractors provided.
More than 12 years ago, Dr. Tam opened his practice, Absolute Integrative Physical Medicine, in Vacaville, California. Dr. Tam’s specialty focused on providing gentle chiropractic care to the entire family. Today, his practice is one of the few facilities in the Northern California region that offers an FDA-approved HealthLight treatment for neuropathy.
“I’m not just a doctor, but also a coach and mentor for my patients and staff,” Dr. Tam stated.
Dr. Tam’s primary focus is to take care of patients with compassion and respect because when patients know that you care, he believes they’ll do whatever it takes to get better.
Empowering the Patient’s Journey
One of the main tools inherent to growing his business and achieving excellent patient compliance is a commitment to working closely with his DFH Functional Medicine Consultant to understand the best products to recommend for his patients' health needs.
Many of Dr. Tam’s patients drive more than an hour for office visits. So when a patient asks if the supplements will help, Dr. Tam replies, “Of course, they will! The real question is are you going to take them?”
Supplementation isn’t just a good idea; it’s an essential part of the program.
Dr. Tam helps people get their life back on track by going beyond treatment and asking his patients to find their “why.” What are their goals? What are they missing? How does being in pain impact their life?
Helping his patients identify their fundamental reasons builds trust and empowers them for their journey toward healing and ultimately a better quality of life.
Building a Practice That Feels Like Family
For the last 12 years, Dr. Tam has built a practice that feels like family, consisting of two other chiropractors, two nurse practitioners, and five full-time office staff. Dr. Tam is on track to open more clinics within the next 5 years.
Dr. Tam’s team stays up to date on the latest research; they further their education by reading articles and discussing books together. They have recently read “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John C. Maxwell and “The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results” by Gary Keller.
Everyone who works at Dr. Tam’s organization believes in the mission to offer a holistic, drug-free approach to treatment. The office culture embodies support and inspiration that pulls people together toward a common goal. Dr. Tam and his staff have a 30-minute meeting every morning to discuss various topics from patient and staff successes to role-playing customer service scenarios.
“Don’t just hire people — hire leaders.”
To find the best-dedicated candidates for his front office staff, Dr. Tam employs a unique 4-step hiring process. The results of his approach are favorable to hire and employ a front office staff of reliable and hard-working individuals.
Dr. Tam’s Hiring Process for the Front Office Staff
Step 1. Search resumes coming in. Find candidates. Invite them to a group meeting.
Step 2. Talk to the candidates about the company values and the available position as a group. Tell them they need to be open when talking to people. Instruct them to introduce themselves and strike up a conversation with another candidate. Take notes on who is saying what, on their eye contact, on their confidence level, and so forth. Tell them that if they’re not comfortable talking with people, then they can leave right away.
Step 3: Conduct a 2-minute 1-on-1 interview while the others wait. Ask three questions and take notes on eye contact, appearance, presentation, and how quickly they actually answer the question rather than dancing around it. Then grade them from 1 to 5 on each answer.
As fellow practitioners, you can support your practice and patient outcomes by sharing success stories just like this one, where you and your peers become a source of education and support for one another.
To nominate yourself or to be featured as a peer in our DFH Practitioner Success Stories, please email us at marketing@designsforhealth.com.
