We had a new patient on the schedule and when he first came in was in a lot of pain. After reviewing his comprehensive exam and xrays, the doctor recommended that he come in every day for ten days for adjustments and therapies and then the rate of his visits would decline over the next six to eight weeks. He had sustained multiple injuries and after the first few visits it was brought to my attention that this patient had very poor personal hygiene.  The poor therapists would have to stand over this patient for fifteen minutes at a time giving him myofascial release.  Even the doctor was noticing that the smell was overpowering!

I was asked to try to find a way to discuss this issue with the patient.  I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or make him feel like I was attacking him, so after giving it some thought I figured out a way to discuss the issue with the patient without it feeling like a personal attack.  I created a simple form stating that for the safety of our patients and staff it was very important that the area of the body being working on (usually the back) was washed with an antimicrobial soap the morning before the appointment.  That allowed me to speak with the patient confidently and non-offensively.  I simply explained that it was part of our normal paperwork for all patients receiving the number of therapies he was receiving. 

Thankfully I had recently had a procedure done at one of the local hospitals and they had a similar form so the idea was fresh on my mind so drafting a similar form wasn’t difficult.  We began using that form as one in the standard package of new patient paperwork and that cut down on many similar situations in the future.  As it turned out, that was one of the best implementations that I made in the patient charts.  It really cut down on the uncomfortable situations that can arise when dealing with high volumes of patients. 

As a final note, office décor should directly reflect the patient demographic for your practice.  For example, if you’re in a Urology office, it may be wise to invest in leather chairs in your receptions room rather than cloth which is easily stained and those stains and smells are often impossible to get out once they are ingrained in the upholstery.  We had leather chairs in the exam rooms and leather tables for therapy.  Those are easily wiped down in between each patient which keeps hygiene at its highest!