Is your practice growth stagnant or are new patient referrals declining? It’s often because the business is too insider focused.

By Editor, Concierge Medicine Today

Insideritis manifests in practices during ‘scene transitions,’ often sounding like:

• “Do you have an appointment?”
• “What seems to be the problem?”
• “Can I have your name?”
• “When was your last visit?”
• “Is it urgent?”
• “You’ll need to call this number.”
• “I don’t see a record of that here; did you…?”
• “I’m sorry, they’re not here—you’ll have to…”
• “You’ll need to…”
• “We will call you…”

“While hospitality in healthcare is a process, the goal is not to make the patient feel processed.” ~Editor, Concierge Medicine Today

One attorney we recently talked to notes “Steer clear of marketing and branding, that, while quite prevalent in the marketplace, is frustrating your patient fees achieving qualified medical expense status. For example, you may dearly love the DPC or concierge [as terms or] brands, but, the IRS is convinced that neither brand’s patient fees are qualified medical expenses. Why debate the IRS? Neither brand is likely to fully explain YOUR medical or healthcare philosophy, and neither brand assists with qualified medical expense status so both brands frustrate HSA/FSA/HRA/MSA funding absent changes in tax laws and IRS regulations.” (Eischen; 2025)

I understand the appeal of using industry jargon and abbreviations – it saves time. However, unless you’re the NHL, NFL or CFL, which you are not, refrain from using abbreviations or insider jargon in public communication.

A mentor once dropped this gem on me over lunch: “Confusion in the office space means confusion in the marketplace.” Our healthcare culture tends to overcomplicate matters, A LOT — labeling things only to set them aside for later! If you think, “Well, everyone knows what ABCXYZ stands for,” you’ve fallen into the trap of a copycat or insideritis. Sure, some insiders might understand, but I don’t, and neither do newcomers or those not yet integrated into your culture.

To effectively reach more patients, keep acronyms and abbreviations out of your branding and communications. Over a decade ago, one industry expert wisely suggested, “Let’s prioritize substance over labels.” He was right, yet many doctors missed the memo. Clarity is king! Take healthcare memberships and subscriptions as an example – while they may be labeled as ‘disruptively innovative,’ many patients often perceive them as either too cheap to be effective, not thorough enough, or exclusively for the wealthy and prohibitively expensive. You might be enamored with trendy terms that you believe everyone uses or are convinced it worked for a colleague, and you and your staff might be  comfortable using insider jargon like ‘concierge,’ ‘Cash-Based Practice,’ ‘integrated care,’ ‘DPC,’ ‘membership model,’ ‘private pay model,’ ‘retainer,’ ‘boutique,’ ‘holistic approach’, or ‘direct’ — but remember, that language is only familiar to you! Patients shouldn’t have to learn a new language to visit or join your practice. Instead of duplicating what others have done (and not well), innovate and stand out — YOU are the brand, not some trendy term only a few people in the inner circle know about!

Here’s the reality: if someone must learn code to join your practice, you probably won’t attract many new members. Yesterday’s ideas never attract tomorrow’s patients. Your aim is to assist people through your practice model, starting with the end goal in mind: the patient. Making a positive impact on as many lives as possible is crucial, and your mission is what will save the day!

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SOURCE: Concierge Medicine Today’s Business Center; 2025