Want to Grow Faster? Start Visiting Other Doctors’ Offices (Seriously)
READ TIME – 2 MINUTES
Hello, Don here. Welcome to Podiatry Practice Mastery.
I want to share an experience I had recently that reminded me of one of the most underrated “growth hacks” in podiatry:
Spend time inside other doctors’ offices.
A fellowship-trained doc (I’ll call him Dr. Brian) flew up from Florida to shadow me for the day. He’s currently working for another doctor while planning to open his own practice.
What impressed me most wasn’t his clinical background.
It was this: 👉 He spent his own time and money to learn from other successful practices… and he’s done it with multiple doctors.
That’s the mindset.
When you’re a young doc (or even a mid-career doc), you have carte blanche—you can ask to visit almost any practice, and most of us will happily show you what’s working.
And if you do this once every 3 months, you’ll compress years of learning into a single year.
What He Did That Was Smart
The first thing he did was start snapping photos of my handouts and treatment sheets.
Honestly… that’s gold.
If you ever visit another office, don’t just watch how they talk to patients—collect their systems:
- Handouts
- Checkout flow
- Scripting
- Scheduling processes
- Patient education tools
Because the “secret sauce” is rarely a procedure. It’s the workflow.
Two Ideas He Gave Me That I’m Stealing
1) Use the treatment sheet as a checkout tool
He asked: “Why not have the patient bring the sheet to the front desk so your team knows exactly what’s next?”
I always assumed everything had to live in the EMR, but that’s a simple, low-friction way to keep the whole team aligned.
2) Put videos in every room… the cheap way
He’d visited offices where every room had a TV running patient education.
I was thinking complicated Wi-Fi boxes and connected systems.
He said: “They just use a pen drive.”
Load a few high-quality videos (with subtitles), rotate them, and you instantly elevate the patient experience.
He even mentioned buying TVs for around $70 during Black Friday and just running USB videos. Simple.
A Quick Thought on Shockwave for Wounds (and Swift Tips)
We also talked about using shockwave for wounds. I don’t see a ton of wound care, but he’s been billing Medicare with good success, even with the “T-code” concern.
I’ll probably start with the basics (offloading, orthotic shoe) and then consider a shockwave series if it stalls.
We also had a lunch meeting with Swift, and I’ll be honest—I’m still wrestling with the economics.
I like Swift. It works. Often faster than cantharidin and with less post-treatment pain.
But the tip cost makes me hesitate. If the machine is expensive and the tips are pricey, it feels like you’re paying twice.
If tips were $5? I’d use it on everyone.
If you’ve ever thought about shadowing another practice—do it.
And if you want to come visit our office, I’m open to it. Just reach out and we’ll see if we can make it work.
Key Takeaways
- Visiting other practices is one of the fastest ways to accelerate growth
- Don’t just observe—collect systems (handouts, scripts, workflows)
- Simple upgrades (treatment sheet at checkout, USB videos in rooms) can elevate the patient experience
- Vendor economics matter—know your numbers and your margins