Dr. Paul Basile. was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Weslwood High School and then attended Fairleigh Dickenson University in Teaneck, NJ. He continued his studies at Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic, where he graduated in September of 1980. Dr. Basile, along with his wife, Barbara, also a chiropractor, j opened their practice in Allentown. \ PA. in January- 1981. j Dr. Basile is active in his communi- | ty. serving as the president of the I Lehigh Coitntx Chamber of Commerce \ Health Care Committee, and is a fre- \ quent lecturer on topics such as I ergonomics, injury prevention and ! other health-related issues. The j Basiles' practice is a multidisciplinary \ practice that places the chiropractic \ adjustment first-complimented by \ rehabilitation, physical therapy. j acupuncture, massage, and nutritional j therapy, in a beautiful, 4000 sq. ft. i facility. The doctors Basile have been j married for 21 years and have two j boys. | In an interview with The American j Chiropractor (TAG), Dr. Paul Basile | (PB) talks about his success in a multi- | disciplinary Industrial Medicine prac- j tice. | i ! TAC: What influenced you to j become a chiropractor? [ PB: I can't say that I was one of those '■ who always knew what they wanted to be when they "grew up". I was attending Fairleigh Dickinson University with the intention of becoming a dentist, even though I was never really comfortable with that idea. I worked two jobs while attending school. I worked as a dental lab technician, making dentures and dental prosthet- ics, and. at the same time, worked stocking furniture in a warehouse. After injuring my back, I was taking pain pills prescribed by our family medical doctor. As luck would have it. I attended a lecture by a chiropractor who spoke at Career Day at the university. I found what he said compelling, and so I became his patient. Once my back was well, I decided to pursue a career in chiropractic. To be candid, this decision was not very popular with my family and many of my friends and acquaintances. Even the manager of the furniture warehouse sat me down and tried to talk me out of it! TAC: What type of practice do you have? (Is it insurance based, cash based, subluxation-based, etc?) PB: I think an important concept, not only for a healthy person but a healthy practice as well, is balance. Our practice has a diverse base of patients with about 30 percent cash. A significant portion of our resources is directed toward Industrial Medicine, and our facility is well-suited for it. In today's market, almost everyone who wants to work is working: and so, if chiropractors want to find spines...they should go to where people work. Industry, as well as all business, is looking for the most efficient, cost-effective method of operating. We have proven time and again that our model of the multi-disciplinary approach, backed up by great protocols and objective testing, is not only efficient, but gets people better, too! When working with Industry, chiropractors must learn to cross all their /'s and dot all their i's. The utilization of computerized testing for objective evaluation and assessment really sets us apart, and sets new standards for care. We never give an employee a return to work that states. "Mr. Smith may return to work for light duty." We define the light duty. We analyze the injured worker's job description and test them for what they can and cannot do. We write a return to work report that reflects the individual's current capabilities, as it relates to their job functions. For example, we may report an exact amount of weight that the person is currently capable of lifting, to what height, and with what frequency they can lift. This type of reporting requires a higher level of sophistication than just sending an injured worker back with a note that says, "light duty". We develop a close working relationship with the companies we work with. This spills over into our entire practice, and we give each of our patients the same high level of service. We continue to accept Medicare and Medical Assistance patients, because they have spines that need care, too! TAC: How many hours a week do you work? PB: It depends on your definition of work. I am constantly on the go. 1 work hard and I play hard: but. if you love what you do. it's all play. If you mean practice hours. I currently see patients about 9 hours per week. The only way this would be possible is with great associate doctors, a great staff, | and an awesome business plan/system ; to run the practice by. I have learned. \ and continue to learn, how to be an | expert in delegation and follow up. I [ spend an hour or so each week on sta- | tistical analysis, which includes the I practice performance numbers and the I accounts receivable, about two-to-three i i hours per week on public relations and j marketing, and an hour or two on man- i agement. I spend many hours per week j coaching other practices around the i country, and 1 am very involved, on a | developmental level, with a national j company that utilizes the multidiscipli- i nary concept to provide Industrial j Medicine to companies across the j country. \ TAC: What marketing strategies do j you use to attract new patients, and | to keep current patients? J PB: Promote until the floor caves in! j My best strategy is the one no one | seems to want to do. Ready? Have a j written plan and the action steps need- ; ed to make it happen! That means taking a pen and paper and writing it down. All the super-successful doctors I know have a written plan and planned action steps. We plan for two internal (inside the practice) and two external (outside of the practice) marketing events every month. We have been doing "Low Back" seminars every other month for the last few months. Last month the attendance was 82. and this month we attracted 76 attendees. We generate a blend of marketing and public relations activities constantly. I believe in networking and building relationships within the community. We have had success using many different forms of advertising. I suggest that practices keep a marketing log to measure which activities are successful and which are not. Now here is the big secret...do more of the successful ones and less of the non-successful ones! Continued (>n Puijc 23 Paul Basile's Profile PERSONAL Married to wife Barbara for 21 years 2 sons Alex and Zane Recreation and leisure: traveling, fishing, golf Professional Affiliations: ACA; Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association; etc. Vacations: A lot (see his full answer) PRACTICE PARTICULARS Practice Hours: 9 hours per week (with associate doctors) Techniques: Activator. Extremity Adjusting, and Muscle Testing Staff: Drs. Basile (Paul & Barbara), full time Associate D.C.. a P.T.A., 2 full time front desk C.A.'s, office manager/insurance, part time helper, part time M.D.. full time massage therapist ...from Page 21 The problem is that most docs don't plan. And then, when the practice statistics are down, they run around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to do something. When they are back up on top, they think they are too busy to do any marketing, and the cycle repeats itself all over again. A plan makes the flow of new patients more consistent. You will still experience highs and lows, but the highs will be higher and the lows will not be so low. As far as retaining patients, there are no secrets: Do a great consultation and examination, a great Report of Findings, give well thought out treatment recommendations, educate, treat them all the way you'd treat your mother, and follow through! TAC: Which techniques do you use in your practice? PB: I use mostly Activator technique. I do a lot of extremity adjusting, and use muscle testing quite a bit to help me determine what is going on structurally with a person. TAC: Do you have someone to whom you attribute your success? Any mentors? PB: I got a great start from my parents; but, ultimately, success depends upon that person who looks back at you in the mirror in the morning. We've all heard stories of people, born with the silver spoon, who wasted it. I didn't exactly have a silver spoon, but I didn't waste anything. I have worked hard, and continue to, but I also work smart. I learn and I implement what I learn. I have a huge collection of books and audiotapes. I am constantly giving educational or motivational books as gifts. I have had so many mentors over the years, it would take this whole magazine to talk about them all. I guess we should talk about the current ones. First, my kids—I learn from them every day. You really can't learn about love until you have kids. I also think every one needs a coach. My current, and best so far, is Mark Sanna. DC, of Breakthrough Coaching—not only for his practice management systems and program, which are great, but his uncanny ability to show me things I didn't know I had inside me. | Speaking of coaches, I just spent i three days with Coach Darryl ■ Dawkins, NBA great, at the NBA pre-draft tournament. For three days and nights, he constantly had people sur- ; rounding him asking for autographs, j talking to him, shaking hands, or just wanting to be near him. Wherever we went, he commanded the room. Even at the rest stop on the highway, he signed twenty autographs! Always ] with a smile; never tired of it. I asked him what his secret was. He said, "I ; always tell people something to make them feel good about themselves; their smiles makes them feel good and me feel good." Wow, what if everyone in the world had that attitude? So, of course, I gained another mentor! TAC: Which seminars do you attend? Any association memberships? PB: I have the distinct advantage of working with a chiropractic management company and another consulting firm that provides educational seminars for doctors, so I get to go to lots of seminars! I am, also, a member of the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association, the American Chiropractic Association, and some other smaller professional organizations. I just received a nice letter from our local Chamber of Commerce congratulating me on twenty years of membership. TAC: About how many vacations do you take per year? PB: This year will be a good one for vacations! Our oldest is getting ready to go to college, and so we will be traveling a lot to check out schools. We have a house rented for the summer at the New Jersey shore. We have another week planned in the Hamptons of New York, as well as a long weekend away at Lake George. I enjoy a yearly "guys only" trip to the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina, and my wife and I have a cruise booked for the week between Christmas and New Year's for our entire family. I plan to have a couple of long weekend trips for golf after the summer, and (don't tell my wife) a surprise trip to Disney this fall is in the works! TAC: Do you have time for any hobbies? PB: Obviously, I like traveling. My sons and I have a new passion: saltwater fishing. We have a small 24-foot fishing boat, and we want to wear it out! We were all out in our barn this morning getting it ready. I also love cars and have collected several special automobiles. I love driving and have taken several high-performance driving courses. I like gadgets and I am a self-taught computer nerd, but I want to take some college courses on computers. I like golf, but my handicap is that I play golf! If one of my kids decides to take up the game, I'll devote more time to the game. So Alex and Zane, if you are reading this, get into golf! TAC: Do you enjoy your work? How do you feel about going to work in the morning? PB: I feel blessed to be doing what I really love to do. I take what I do seriously, but never take myself so seriously that I don"t stop to smell the roses. TAC: With your practice being mul-tidisciplinary and Industrial Medicine, can you tell our readers your advice about setting up and maintaining such a practice in today's healthcare system? PB: Everyone needs a coach. Even Michael Jordan needs a coach. But, more importantly, you must allow yourself to be coachable!! TAC: Any final words for our readers? PB: I say this as much for myself as for your readers: When you have your head and your heart in the right place, there is nothing that can stop you—but you. You may contact Dr. Basile at 1-610-398-3620. Editor's Note: Do you have a million dollar practice that you 'd like TAC to highlight in our Millionaire Series? ' Contact TAC's editor, Jaclyn Busch, i by phone/fax: 1-305-716-9212 or] email at: [email protected]. We\ want your inspiring story! Contact us \ today! o i
