money, boost productivity and kept information more secure while also making it easier to share. Basic ASL for the healthcare and/or business professional Patient care suffers when patients and health business professionals have poor communication. If language barriers between doctors, business administra-tion, and adult patients are not con-quered, misdiagnoses and inappropri-ate treatment are more likely to occur. While learning some basic ASL does not qualify anyone to be an interpreter, it does allow one to engage in conver-sation with a patient and establish a personal connection. ABCs can be used for fingerspelling names, words, and phrases. Numbers can be used for counting and assessing the pain scale. The ten most common signs used in the clinic are: where, pain, appoint-ment, back, doctor, hello, goodbye, thank you, help, and write. These words can be used together to create phrases “If language barriers are not conquered, misdiagnoses and inappropriate treatment are more likely to occur” and used to communicate some simple information to deaf and hard-of-hear-ing patients and family members. My definition of accessibility requires continuous effort and results in remov-ing physical and sensory barriers. There is no magical, quick solution to create a sensory-friendly office, or to make everyone understand the importance of being curious and open in adapting to new systems, technology, and attitudes. Moreover, there is no “right” way to introduce accessibility to our profession. Try out different tools to see how they improve both business communi-cations and the conversations that you have with patients. You may be sur-prised at the enrichment made to your financial bottom-line. The cost of moving the business phone number to a cloud-based communication system allowed our office to run more effi-ciently, effectively, and save money. Our text messaging service allows pa-tients to contact the clinic directly without getting a busy phone signal. An extra $200-$300 per week in patient revenue without any extra marketing is hard evidence that demonstrates our clinic is doing something right. So, what planet did you say you were from? KEEP IN TOUCH! Keep up to date with all the news, podcasts and webinars you need, with Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor’s weekly newsletter. @CN_Doctor It’s easy: Scan the QR code or visit cndoctor.ca/subscribe! /ChiropracticNaturopathicDoc For editorial inquiries, please contact Jannen Belbeck • [email protected] 16 Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor July/August 2021 CND_HouseAd_HP_July21_TD.indd 1 @ChiropracticNaturopathicDoc 2021-06-10 4:00 PM www.Cndoctor.ca
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